Haunted
by Corrin Winston
Summary: "Team Gold" is back together again, and "Team Red" is behind bars...but this time there's a new threat. And he's way more dangerous than Team Red ever was. C has to struggle to keep her relationship with the gang-and Dally-in tact while dealing with this new terror. This is a sequel to The Insiders. You should probably read that first.
1. Chapter 1

**_(_****_Soooo guys, here's Chapter One of the sequel! I'm gonna warn you right now, this story isn't as...realistic as the first one. A few of my friends have also told me it's not as good...so if that's true, I'm extremely sorry. I'm trying, okay? Anyway, thanks for enjoying the first one enough to even care about the sequel! By the way, this first chapter is in C's POV. Kinda long, too, so sorry. Enjoy and PLEEEEASE review!)_**

**Chapter One**

"Hurry up, Emily," I complained as I walked home from school with my sister.

"I'm hurrying, I'm hurrying!" She sped up a little, nearly tripping on a crack in the cement, but managed to catch herself and keep walking smoothly.

"It's seriously not safe to be walking out here. Hurry up. Dally's gonna _kill_ me if he catches us!"

Yeah, yeah, I know what you're wondering. Well, I think you do. Who's Dally? And why isn't it safe to be walking out in the middle of a casual neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma? The Dally part I'll get to in a minute. But here's why my sister, Emily, and I are rushing to get home.

We're a part of the social class known as the _greasers_. We live on the east side of town. We actually have to _do_ something for a living, and we don't have that much money. We don't have all the nice luxuries that the Socs have.

Who are the Socs? The Socs, short for Socials, are the preppy rich kids. Just because their parents have money, they get to live in big houses on the south side of town. They don't have to work for _anything_, really. While we greasers are busy working our butts off to struggle to pay for things that we _need_, they don't have to think twice about spending money on something they simply _want_. So what does this have to do with anything?

The Socs love to jump greasers. I don't know why, it's just a known fact. I guess it's because they look down on us like we're dirt, or maybe it's just because they can. I don't think I'll ever know for sure. We've never done anything to them, unless you counted self-defense. But they still continue to jump even the most innocent of the greaser type, because they have nothing better to do. They ride around the east side of town in their little fancy cars, just searching for an easy target. Did I mention that they're usually drunk? I don't think I mentioned that. And a Soc is dangerous, but a _drunk_ Soc…even worse.

As if on cue, a red Corvair pulled wildly in front of us, blocking our path to home and almost running us over in the process.

"Uh oh," Emily said, her eyes wide.

"Dammit!" I shouted. "They're gonna kill us! And then Dally's gonna bring me to life and kill me again!" Again, I'll explain Dally soon.

Two Soc guys got out of the car. They didn't look _too _much older than me, which meant they couldn't be over seventeen or eighteen. The first guy was brunette and tall. The second guy was short with curly blonde hair, and he looked more scared than Emily and I did.

"A-are you sure you wanna d-do this, Drake?" he asked, his blue eyes wide.

"Shut up, Brandon," the brunette, Drake, snapped. "Looks like we got ourselves a couple of greaser broads, huh? What's up, greasers?"

"Nothin, how 'bout you?" I shrugged. Emily laughed a little at that. You'd think I'd be freaked out with all the times I've got jumped, but I never really got jumped that bad. So it wasn't even scary anymore. Dally, who you _still_ don't know, but I promise I'll explain, taught me to be cool when I got jumped. Talk back, but not _too_ much.

"Oh, this broad thinks she's funny," Drake sneered. "Maybe we should show her what we can do to that pretty little face of hers. What d'ya say, Brandon?"

"That's Winston's girl, man! We can't mess with her!" Brandon squeaked. Yes, I was Winston's girl, and I was proud of it.

"Why the hell not?" Drake asked.

"Winston's girl, Drake! As in _Dally Winston_!"

"So?"

"He'll kick our asses if we touch 'er! Remember what he did to that one kid…her…her ex-boyfriend or something? He's _dead_ now, man."

"Oh, please," the brunette rolled his eyes. "I'm sure that was a bluff." He took a step closer to me and reached out for a strand of my hair, but I smacked his hand away and he chuckled. Emily took a slow step backwards. "Besides, we'll take _good_ care of 'er. Good ol' Dallas won't even find out."

"Wanna bet?" the smooth voice came from behind the Socs' fancy red car.

"Yeah—" Drake spun around to address the person, but then he noticed who he was talking to.

Dally Winston himself.

"I suggest you get outta here. Now." Dally hopped over the hood of the Corvair and grabbed both of the collars of Drake and Brandon.

"Or what?" Drake challenged.

"Or…" Dally tightened his grip on the collars of their madras shirts, the dangerous smile on his face growing, "…I _kill_ you, and I won't regret it. Trust me. Your choice, boys." Even Drake looked nervous at that. "Ya gonna leave the girls alone?" he demanded, and the Socs nodded. Brandon gulped loudly, and he was shaking a little. Dally pushed the two up against the brick wall of the building that we were walking past.

"Dally, they said they'd leave," I said gently, trying to calm him down. "Let 'em go."

He leaned in closer for a second, long enough to whisper, "Mess with my girl again, you're _dead_. No excuses, no apologies, no questions asked. Just instant _death_. We understand each other?" They nodded, and Dally let go of them, dropping them to the ground. They ran over to their Corvair, hopped in, and sped off.

"Thanks, Dal," I sighed, self-consciously brushing my hair with my fingers in front of my boyfriend.

"God dammit, Corrin," he muttered. "What the hell were ya thinkin'?"

Okay, since Dally just saved our butts, I think now would be a good time to explain.

My name is Corrin, but my gang of friends call me C. Unless they're giving me a stern lecture of if they're annoyed with me, which would explain why Dally just used my full name. I have long brown hair and hazel colored eyes. I'm sixteen years old now. I'm a greaser, as I've already explained, living in Tulsa with my sister and my parents. My parents don't really pay attention to the two of us, so it's almost like we live on our own. We do hang out at our friends', the Curtises, house a lot. We live next door to them. I'll explain who they are soon, too.

My sister's name is Emily, as I've also already explained. She has brown hair that goes just past her shoulders, and the same color eyes as me. She also wears glasses. Emily is now fifteen years old, and she has a boyfriend, Ponyboy, who I'll tell you about later.

I've been living here in Tulsa since two weeks before I turned fourteen. I met my group of friends then. Before that, I lived in Virginia with my parents, Emily, and my grandparents. But my parents both got new jobs, causing us to move to Tulsa, but we left Emily and my grandparents behind. After about a year of living here, Emily randomly showed up at the door one day, saying that our grandparents sent her down on a train to Oklahoma by herself. She's now living with my parents and me.

Now onto Dally. Dallas Winston is his full name. He's eighteen now, tall with messy brown hair and chocolate colored eyes. He's not usually seen without a leather jacket. Dally's tough, cold, and mean. He kinda crosses the _greaser_ side of the line separating greasers and hoods. Dally pretty much _is_ a hood. He steals, he fights, and he gets in trouble. He's been to jail more times than anyone can count. But I honestly think it's not his fault. Dally grew up on the crime-filled streets of New York City, where people stole, fought, and even killed other people. The poor boy's parents didn't really care about him. They left little Dally to fend for himself on the dangerous streets where he grew up. Naturally, he learned the ways of New York City, along with the gangs that Dally became part of because he didn't have parents to show him any other way. He got arrested at age ten, and that wasn't the first time. He has the longest record of all the hoods, which makes many people, even the toughest hoods, fear him.

Because of his childhood, Dally learned that if you take care of yourself, nothing can touch you. He learned that if you care too much about someone else, it can end up getting yourself hurt. So Dally hides all emotion. He hides everything he feels, or at least he tries to. He tries not to care about anyone else around him and just worry about himself. Usually, he succeeds.

Usually.

See, he has two exceptions. Johnny Cade, who I'll tell you about later. And me. Yup, I'm Dally's girlfriend, therefore making me "Winston's girl". Sure, Dally cares about the rest of the gang. I know he does. I know him better than he thinks I do. He would kick anyone's butt that would dare lay a finger on any one of us. But for Johnny and me, he'd go further. Quite further.

"Are you even listenin' to me?" Dally's voice brought me out of my thoughts, and I realized that we were almost to the Curtis house and he's been lecturing me the whole time.

"Sorry…I was thinking. What?" He sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair.

"Next time, you walk home with one of the guys, ya hear? Glory, and I thought you were gettin' a little smarter." He shook his head disbelievingly.

"Aw, calm down, Dal. Nothing happened," I reasoned. He muttered something inaudible under his breath. Emily walked silently next to me, listening to Dally's lecture but not responding to it. Before I knew it, we were at the Curtis' house.

Most of the gang was there, with the exception of a few people. There were twelve people in our "gang" which wasn't really a gang. It was just a group of best friends that loved each other like family, with some couples in that group. Dally and I were one of them.

The first person that I saw when I walked through the door was my sister's boyfriend, fifteen year old Ponyboy Curtis. He had his nose stuck in a book, one that he'd probably already read three times. But the kid was obsessed with reading, and I didn't blame him. I loved to read, too. Ponyboy's always been like my little brother, only by a year, but still. We always knew that we could count on each other for support and advice when we needed it. Ponyboy has long brown hair (well, long for a boy, at least), and green eyes. He liked to pretend that they were gray, but they were looking more and more green every day.

"How's my little M&M doing?" Ponyboy asked as Emily plopped down on the couch next to him. "Hey, C. Dal."

"Hey," Dal responded as I gave a little wave. "Hey, Johnny," Dally nodded at the boy on the other side of the couch.

"Hey, Dallas," Johnny replied. Johnny Cade was seventeen years old. He had tan skin, dark hair, and dark, sad eyes. His eyes were sad because of the seventeen years of his life that he'd been abused. His parents abused him a lot, and put a lot of negative thoughts about himself into his head. Luckily, he had a girlfriend now, who was sitting in front of him on the floor, so I'll introduce her in a second. But anyway, poor Johnnycake went through a lot in his life. He even killed a kid. Not on purpose, though. It was a complete accident, but it was out of self-defense. See, the kid he killed was trying to drown Ponyboy in a fountain. He was a Soc, like Drake and Brandon. Johnny was acquitted in court, and everything was almost okay again. But it would never be okay for Johnny, not with the home life he has. So Olivia showed him love, unlike his parents, and showed him the good in the world that he doesn't usually get to see.

Olivia moved to Tulsa from New York City last year. She has long, thick red hair and hazel eyes. She's super pretty. Johnny met her when he used to work at the DX. She walked in once, and Johnny was instantly in love. It was so refreshing to see Johnny happy that I had to try to help him out, but he didn't need much help. Turns out Olivia was crushing on Johnny just as much as Johnny was crushing on her, and they ended up dating really quickly. Olivia was one of my best friends, too. She's sixteen, like me, and we're both juniors in high school, along with our other friend, Adeline, and Ponyboy. Ponyboy should be in the same grade as Emily, but he's too smart, so he skipped a grade.

The four of us were in the same grade. Olivia was sitting on the floor in front of Johnny, who was brushing his fingers through her long hair.

Adeline, one of my other best friends, was also sitting in the Curtis' living room. She was stretching on the floor. Adeline has long, dark brown hair with hazel eyes, because sometimes they look brown, sometimes they look green. Adeline used to be a Soc, but she joined the greaser side. Sometimes we forget that Adeline's still rich, like a Soc. She lives in a big house and she has enough money for anything she wants. She has decent parents, ones that care about her.

Not that all of our parents are either abusive or neglectful. It certainly seems that way. But I'm pretty sure Two-Bit Mathews, the last boy sitting in the room with a beer bottle in his hand, has a mother that cares. He doesn't see her too much. She works two jobs as a single mom, trying her hardest to make sure Two-Bit and his little sister have the best future they possibly can. Two-Bit isn't his real name, in case you were wondering. His real name is Keith. But nobody's allowed to call him that. He gained his nickname because he's the jokester of the group. He can usually find the bright side of any situation. He's almost twenty years old now.

There's four more people that you haven't been introduced to yet, but don't panic. You'll meet them soon.

Anyway, everyone was greeting everyone when Dally answered Ponyboy's question from a while ago.

"Your _little M&M_," he said, nudging Pony's shoulder, "just nearly got jumped with her sister."

"We're fine," Emily interjected quickly.

"Yeah, Dal's making a big deal outta nothin'," I added.

"It's not nothing if you almost got jumped," Olivia countered.

"Yeah, what if they got you like they got Johnny?" Two-Bit agreed.

"They didn't," I said quickly, noticing Johnny's eyes darken a little. "Don't talk like that. Sorry, Johnnycake," I shot him an apologetic glance.

"Don't worry about it," he shrugged. "Two's right." I leaned back against the wall and sighed. At least it was a Friday.

"When's Sodapop gonna be home?" Adeline asked. Sodapop Curtis, Ponyboy's older brother, was Ad's boyfriend. He was seventeen and a high school drop-out. He worked at the gas station called the DX. Sodapop was probably one of the most understanding people in the group, and he's been like a brother to me since I moved here. Soda had brown hair and blue eyes. He was always happy, or at least he always _looked_ happy. He couldn't _always_ be happy, especially with what's happened in his life, but he tried his hardest for other peoples' sakes. There's the ninth member of the gang.

"Should be soon," Ponyboy answered. "He was all excited about getting out early today."

"What about Darry?" Emily asked. Darry Curtis was the oldest Curtis brother. He was almost twenty-two, but he didn't really act like it. He was the father figure of all of us, but he was the legal guardian of his two younger brothers. This is because the Curtis parents died in a tragic car accident about two years ago. It was so unfair. They were the best parents anyone could ask for; even _Dallas_ looked up to them. They were perfect. And they were torn away from us, leaving the seven boys and I (because the rest of the girls hadn't been part of the gang at that point) devastated, and the Curtis brothers without a legal guardian.

So Darry, with the approval of the court, kept up with the bills and made sure his two younger brothers could live better lives than he had. He wanted to make sure that they got a chance to grow up, not to be _forced_ to, like he was. So Darry took the hard job of roofing houses. He gave up his whole college fund for Ponyboy and Sodapop. Now _that _was someone to look up to. And I'm pretty sure everyone in the gang did. Now you have the _tenth_ member.

"Same time as always." I set my backpack down on the floor next to me and plopped down behind it, pulling out my homework.

The last two members of the gang were Steve Randle and Helena Getman.

Steve was eighteen years old with dark hair and blue eyes. He was Sodapop's best friend, so he was pretty close with the rest of our friends, too. He was nice enough, he was just kind of loud and rowdy, but it was fine by me. A lot of the gang was like that. Steve's hard to understand. Sometimes, he acts nice to everyone; sometimes he acts like he hates everyone. You never know what kind of mood he's in until you talk to him. Part of why he acts like that is because of his dad, I think. Steve didn't like to get too deep with anyone, but I knew for a fact that his dad was a drunk and it bothered him. Who knows what was happening with his family life? I felt a little bad for him because sometimes when Soda's around, Steve tends to fade out of the picture, especially to the flirting girls at the DX. I've noticed when the two were at work; sometimes Soda could be swarmed by girls, while Steve's working hard. He hadn't had a girlfriend since he was fifteen, and I hoped he found one soon.

Helena, the last member, wasn't around as much as the rest of us were, but she was Darry's girlfriend. She was nineteen years old with shoulder-length blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She and Darry met at the DX, while he was picking up his younger brother from work. Darry liked her a lot, and he even changed from cool and collected to quiet and nervous around her. Helena balanced him out, I think, and helped him to calm down after a rough at work, or after chewing his youngest brother out about schoolwork or something. I thought they were absolutely adorable together, and I hope nothing happened to jeopardize their relationship.

At that point, everyone became preoccupied with their own stuff. Most of us had homework out, except for Ponyboy, who was still reading. And then Dally, who was smoking. And Two-Bit, who was still drinking. I was almost done with my homework when Dally's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Hey, babe, wanna get outta here?" His soft lips were against my ear.

"Where're we goin'?" I asked, stuffing my homework back in my backpack. He shrugged.

"See a movie, or somethin', I dunno."

"Kay," I nodded, standing up and slinging my backpack over my shoulder. "See ya guys later," I waved goodbye to the rest of the group. Everyone gave a "goodbye" of some sort, a small "bye", "see ya later", or, in Two-Bit's case, a grunt.

With an arm around my shoulders, Dally led me out the front door. The cool November breeze blew my long hair backwards. Even though it was almost seven-thirty in the evening, the sky wasn't dark yet. There was a really pretty sunset with pinks, purples, oranges, and golds. The sun was peeking out over the horizon.

"Pretty, huh?" I nudged Dally, who was still smoking his cigarette.

"What is?" he asked absentmindedly.

"The sunset."

"I guess," he shrugged. I sighed and sat down in the green grass, pulling him down with me. "What're we doin'?"

"Movie doesn't start for another half hour," I shrugged, too. "So you're gonna watch a sunset."

"What's with you people and sunsets?" He leaned against the trunk of a thick tree behind him. "They're not that great."

"You've never even seen one."

"So?"

"Give it a chance, Dal," I sighed, slipping my hand into his.

"Fine. But we leave in time for the movie, deal?"

"Deal."

I could tell he liked it. He'd never admit it, but he definetly did. He relaxed against the tree trunk and pulled me tight into his side, his breathing evening out. I rested my head on his chest, listening to the soothing sound of his even heartbeat.

I concentrated on that for a while—his heartbeat, along with the vibrant colors of the setting sun. But when I snapped out of it, I realized how far down the sun was.

"Dally," I nudged him gently. "The movie's gonna start soon."

"What time is it?" His gaze didn't leave the sky. I glanced at the keychain on my backpack that had a watch attached.

"Seven fifty."

"Kay. C'mon." He stood up, tearing his eyes away from the sunset. He reached out for my hand and I took it, pulling myself into a standing position.

"You liked it," I teased.

"Did not."

"No, you _loved_ it."

"Did not."

"I think you've watched a sunset before."

"No, I haven't."

"Don't lie."

"Johnny asked me to once," he admitted quickly. "I couldn't say no. He looked so happy, and it was after—well, you know."

I knew what Dally was talking about. _After Johnny recovered from almost dying. _Yeah, Johnny almost died a year ago. It was a terrible time for all of us. Ponyboy and Johnny ran away from home because Darry hit Pony out of frustration, and the fourteen year-old just grabbed his best friend and ran. Somewhere along the way, they got jumped by a few drunk Socs who tried to drown Ponyboy. _That's_ when Johnny killed Bob Sheldon. Out of self-defense. They were all afraid that they'd get the electric chair, the punishment for murder. So they escaped to Windrixville, with the help of Dally, and hid out in an abandoned church.

But the church set on fire with a group of school kids in there. Johnny and Ponyboy, being the brave boys that they are, saved every single little kid. But as Johnny was climbing out the window, the roof caved in on him. He ended up in _really _bad condition. He wasn't expected to live, and if he did, he was supposed to be paralyzed for the rest of his life.

One night, he nearly died. He was so close to it, that Dally went crazy. He pulled an unloaded gun on the fuzz, who shot back. The bullet nearly caught him, but luckily, it missed. Two of my—our—best friends almost died that night, leaving us just as devastated as when the Curtis parents died, if not more.

Luckily, Johnny kept fighting, and he even ended up re-gaining his ability to walk again. It was a miracle, and it really brought the whole gang back together again.

"Don't worry, babe," I smiled. "I won't tell anyone."

"You better not, or I'll beat the tar outta you."

"I don't_ have_ any tar in me." I stuck out my tongue.

"Wise ass," he smirked, pulling me into a headlock.

By the time we'd snuck through the fence of the Nightly Double, the drive-in place, and took our seats, the sun had set and the movie was playing.

The movie was horror. My favorite. Sarcasm, if you couldn't tell. Horror movies scared the hell outta me, and I really didn't wanna embarrass myself in front of my boyfriend. Especially since he was Dallas Winston. He'd _never _let me live it down.

I tried to be as tuff about it as I could, but even the little things were making me jump. Probably the effect of everything that happened in my life for the past two years. Like Luke—but I pushed the thought of him away as quickly as it popped into my head. The last time I thought about him, I ended up crying out of guilt.

In the last scene of the movie, the dark phantom ended up murdering the main character, a pretty girl with long golden curls and sparkling, ice blue eyes. As the phantom's machete connected with the girl's neck, her blue eyes glazed over and her perfect, petite body—minus the head, which rolled over to reveal the bloody stump that was once her neck—crumpled to the ground. Blood sprayed everywhere, and I let out a horrified squeak, burying my face in Dally's shoulder.

"S'just a movie, C," he chuckled, throwing his arm around my shoulders.

"I know, I know," I whispered, still hiding my face.

When the movie ended, I felt colder. I tightened my black leather jacket around my body a little more, but I couldn't stop the shiver that ran down my spine. Luckily, Dally didn't notice.

I felt really weird after that movie. Like, there was this feeling in the pit of my stomach like something bad was gonna happen. _Really_ bad. But I figured it was just me being paranoid, as usual.

"Wanna get somethin' to eat?" Dally asked suddenly, hopping off the bleachers as the ending credits rolled.

"It's, like, ten o'clock."

"So? I'm hungry."

"Okay, then." He grabbed my hand and I instantly squeezed it gently, feeling comfort in the warmth of his fingers compared to mine. My stomach felt a little better knowing that Dally was there with me.

We ended up walking to Dairy Queen in complete silence. It wasn't awkward at all, actually. We were just enjoying each other's company. I glanced at Dally once in a while, just taking him in. He was breath-taking, honestly. Especially his eyes. It was crazy how different they could be depending on who he was with or what he was doing. When he was with the gang, he had this mysterious look in them. They were dark and cold. All the emotion was hidden, unless he was pissed about something. But there were also the chocolate brown eyes that held real emotion in them—sadness, happiness, fear, love. The eyes that only showed themselves when we were alone together. Either way, they were gorgeous, and I loved to just stare into them and wonder what he was thinking. How his mind works.

When we were finished ordering, we sat down across from each other at a little table in the corner. Dally started telling a story about one of the times he socked a kid in the face because he was teasing Johnny. I listened intently, watching him eat but ate nothing myself.

"You alright?" he asked suddenly. "You've been quiet." I nodded, looking down into my lap. Something really didn't feel right, and I was kinda scared.

"Yeah, I'm good."

"You haven't touched your food," he pointed out. I took a quick sip of the Coke in front of me. Dally eyed me, but said nothing else about it. I pushed my burger towards him, and he gladly took it.

It was about eleven fifteen when I finally turned into my driveway with Dally.

"Ya sure you don't want me to come in with ya?" He gently squeezed my hand as we came to the front door of my house.

"Nah, my parents aren't home, and I'm not sure how much I can trust you to behave yourself." He smirked. "Go home and get some rest, Dallas."

"Sure thing. See ya later." He pulled me in for one last kiss on the lips before jumping off the top step of the porch.

"Love you," I called as I walked through the front door. The sky was dark, so when Dally smiled, all I saw were his bright white teeth. I shut the front door when I saw him turn down the sidewalk.

I became aware of how dark the house was. I snapped on the light in the kitchen, seeing a note on the table from Emily saying that she was sleeping over at the Curtis house. Fine by me. Although I kinda wished someone was home. I felt like there was something hiding in every corner, waiting to kill me. Paranoid, I know, but I really felt like something was wrong. Figuring it was just my imagination, I turned the light off and trudged upstairs to my room.

And I stopped in my tracks.

My bedroom door was closed. Not that weird, I know. But through the crack at the bottom of the door, a blue light was shining through. There was a quiet humming from behind it that sounded weird—eerie, almost.

I swallowed hard. I had no idea what was behind that door. Was this the reason behind the bad feeling I'd had all night? I wasn't sure that I wanted to find out. But it _was_ my bedroom, so I didn't really have a choice. So I sucked in my breath and cautiously pushed the door open.

My jaw dropped at what I saw.

"Mrs. Curtis?!"


	2. Chapter 2

_**(I don't like this chapter. It's really filler, if you ask me. Well, most of it is. Anyway, I hope you like it! Thanks for reading and pleeeeeease review!")**_

**Chapter Two**

_"Mrs. Curtis?!"_

This wasn't real. This couldn't be real. Mrs. Curtis died almost two years ago. I wish she didn't. But she did. She wasn't standing in my room right now. I was going crazy. The paranoia was getting to me.

Yet she was there. Her shoulder-length, neat brown hair. Her clothes. Her pretty smile and her bright eyes filled with love and happiness. Her smooth, comforting voice.

"Corrin, honey, I know this seems a little crazy right now, but just let me explain." Her voice made me wanna listen. It always did. Even back when she was alive. No wonder she could calm Dally down. She could calm anyone down. I didn't know whether to run away from her or run up to her and hug her tightly. She was like my mom, really. She looked the same as she normally did, except something was different. She was glowing. There was a faint, blue-ish white-ish glow around her.

"What's going on?" was all I could ask in a whisper.

"Just sit down," she said comfortingly, motioning to the bed. "I'll explain, I promise."

"A-are you…r-real?"

"Sit." I obeyed, sitting down on the bed in front of her. "Ah, Corrin," she sighed. "You've grown up so much. You're such a pretty girl."

"Thanks…" I said, giving a small smile. My voice sounded electronic to my ears.

"I've been watching you. All of you. I'm so proud of you all. I wish I could tell you all how proud I am, really. But that's not what I'm here for. I'm here to warn you." The feeling came back in my stomach. The bad one.

"W-warn me? I don't get it. What's going on? Are you real? Am I dreaming? Am I going crazy? Am—" she cut off my list of questions.

"Listen to me. There's something that's not right going on. It's in _my _world. The ghost world."

"You're a ghost?"

"Let me finish, please. I guess you could say I'm a ghost. Or like a guardian angel, if you prefer that. But there's a bad ghost, too. There's lots of them. Phantoms and demons, and stuff like that. I'm just getting this vibe, Corrin. A bad vibe. That something's gonna happen to you related with _my _world. So I wanna warn you." My stomach felt worse and worse as she continued talking.

"What's gonna happen?" I asked quietly.

"There's a lot I can't reveal yet." The smile was still on her face, but her eyes were full of worry. She reached out and pushed a strand of hair out of my face. She felt normal, almost. Just…cold. Almost like there was something missing.

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Honey," she sighed, sitting down next to me on the bed, "_you're_ the one that's gonna need the help. I don't think there's anything you can do to stop it. Just be careful, and _don't _give it what it wants."

"I'm really confused. What's _it_? And what does _it_ want?"

"I can't say." Her voice was sad. "But listen, fear is your biggest weakness. So don't be scared. Just know that I'm always with you, and so are Dally and the rest of the gang." I smiled when she mentioned Dally.

"Aww, he loves you too, y'know," she brushed my hair with her fingers.

"How d'you know?"

"I told you. I've been watching. Dally loves people so much that it bothers him. But he still does. You just have to know how to get 'im to open up." I nodded. "He'll do what you tell him to do if he's convinced you love him."

"I _do_ love him."

"_I _know that."

"He doesn't?"

"He's in denial, Corrin. The poor kid's convinced that nobody loves him and that the world would be better off without him."

"Woah…how'd you get _that_ outta him?"

"I know how to get him to open up." She stood up from the bed. "As soon as you figure that out, you can make him tell you _everything_. He _wants_ to let it out, I know he does. He's just scared."

"Dally's _scared?_"

"You said yourself, Corrin. He's a human. He's gonna have human emotions. He's not a robot. He just hides his feelings better than others."

"A _lot_ better," I muttered.

"I gotta get goin', I'm sorry. I'm so glad we could have this talk."

"Can you do this with _anyone?_"

"No, but now that I have with _you_, I can do it again. So expect to see me soon. Be careful, sweetie. Stay safe." We hugged tightly.

"Love you," I whispered, trying to keep the tears in my eyes from falling.

"Love you, too," she smiled, before fading into thin air.

I collapsed back down on my bed in a daze. That did _not_ just happen. There's no way. Ghosts don't exist. _You're going insane, C_. I didn't see Mrs. Curtis there. I missed her so much that I was imagining it. Yeah, that's what happened.

"But that's not what happened." The voice I heard wasn't mine. It was Mrs. Curtis's either. It was raspy, low, and distant. It had to be my imagination.

I whipped around, searching for the owner of the voice. Nobody was there. I was completely alone in my bedroom. Yet I kept hearing it.

"You're not going insane, Corrin. But trust me, by the time I'm done with you, you will be." It still sounded distant, almost like he was whispering from out in the backyard, but I could still hear it.

"Get ahold of yourself," I said aloud, smacking myself in the face. "You're dreaming."

"You're most certainly _not_ dreaming. Gotta go, dear. You'll see me soon. Goodnight." The last word faded into a whisper, and it seemed to echo in my head afterwards.

I exhaled a breath that I didn't know I was holding. I was curled up into a ball, hugging my knees on my bed. Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I got off the bed cautiously and ran to the bathroom to brush my teeth. The dark was scaring me. I snapped on every light I walked past as I went. When I was done, I walked around both floors of the house, making sure that every window and door was shut and locked. My breathing was heavy and my heart was racing a mile a minute. I silently prayed that Dally would randomly show up so I would feel safer, but I knew he wouldn't.

I went back up to my room, turning the lights back off as I went up the stairs. I quickly shut and locked the window in there, too. I usually kept it open in case I got locked out, or if Dally wanted to sneak in, but not then. I was too paranoid at that point.

I got into bed and snuggled under the covers. The bright red numbers on the alarm clock indicated that it wasn't even midnight yet, but I was too scared to stay awake another minute.

But I couldn't sleep. The time ticked on, but I was still wide awake and more afraid than ever. I tried changing my position a bunch of times. I even got out of bed once, but I ended up pacing back and forth. I got myself all worked up again, so I laid back down.

Around three in the morning, I felt like the darkness was haunting me. I just wanted to go to sleep so it could be morning and I could see Dally again and feel better. So I climbed out of bed. This probably wasn't the best idea, but I didn't really care at this point. Turning on all the lights as I went, I ran to the closet next to the bathroom. There, I found what I was looking for.

Sleeping pills.

Like I said, it wasn't the best idea. But I really wanted to get to sleep, and fast. So, making sure I read all the directions, I took the amount I was supposed to. I was about to put the container back in the closet, but I took them back to my room instead. I might need them again.

It was three-thirty when the pills finally did the trick, and I fell asleep.

_ "I didn't do it, I swear!" Dally ran a handcuffed hand through his messy hair. He was wearing a prison outfit, and he was sitting in court, pleading his innocence. It wasn't looking good for him, even though I know he didn't do it. He didn't murder Johnny. I know he didn't. He was with me when we found out that Johnny was gone. And Dally loved Johnny , just like the rest of the gang did. He wouldn't do that. He couldn't do that. _

_ "I'm sorry, Dallas, but you have no witness to prove that you're innocent," the judge concluded._

_ "Corrin's my witness, and you're not listening to her."_

_ "Your girlfriend's a liar."_

_ "No she's not. I swear on my life. I swear on _her_ life that I didn't kill Johnnycake."_

_ "You'll let your girlfriend die to protect yourself? You're sick, Winston. Sick. You don't love her."_

_ "Fuckin' say it again," Dally slammed his fist into the table and stood up, his voice lowering to a dangerous growl._

_ "Dallas Winston," the judge continued as one of the security guards pushed him back down into his seat, "you have been found guilty of third degree murder. Your punishment…the electric chair." My heart stopped. I couldn't breathe. Dally was gonna die. Over something he didn't even do. "You may say your goodbyes."_

_ I threw myself into his arms, sobbing into his chest as he rubbed my back. I was hyperventilating and I couldn't stop._

_ "Shh…C, breathe. It was bound to happen sometime, we both knew it. Don't cry, babe. I'm really not worth it." I was too worked up to respond. He pulled me to the first row of chairs in the courthouse and just hugged me on his lap. He tried to hide it, but I could tell he was crying, too._

_ After a while, the security guard came over to where we were sitting._

_ "Time's up, kids." His voice was gentle, with a hint of sadness. I grabbed onto Dally's hand tight. _

_ "He didn't do it, I swear on my life. Please don't take him. I'll do anything," I sobbed. _

_ "Love you, Corrin," Dally whispered, wiping his brown eyes. "Be good for me."_

_ "Dally, don't leave me. Please, you can't."_

_ "I love you," he repeated, pressing his soft lips to mine. Our last kiss._

_ "Love you more," I choked out when we pulled away. He was ripped away from me by the security guard, and when I tried to get him back, a different one stopped me. This one seemed meaner. Less sympathetic. His arm clamped down on my waist, keeping me secured to the chair I was in. _

_ I kicked and struggled desperately, but to no avail. My boyfriend was whisked through the door where his heart would stop beating forever. I screamed and sobbed continuously for what felt like hours, but was probably only minutes. _

_ "It's too late," the guard holding me said harshly. "He's gone." His voice sounded low and raspy, identical to the one I heard in my room that night._

_ Except instead of the voice being distant, it was right in my ear. _

_ "He can't be gone," I protested, my body trembling as sobs wracked through it. "I love him so, so much. He can't be."_

_ "Sorry, dear." His voice didn't sound sorry. He sounded happy. Evilly happy. "He never loved you, anyway. But now he's dead. Gone forever. Just like you'll be when I'm done with you. You'll never escape. Never."_

_ Never._

I woke up to the feeling of someone softly stroking my hair. Remembering last night's events, fear shot threw my body and I sat up quickly.

"Jesus, kid, what's your problem?" Dally. Dally, Dally, Dally. I jumped out of the bed and wrapped my arms around him tightly, burying my face into his neck.

"I love you," my breathing was heavy and tears were slipping out again.

"You alright?" Dally asked, pushing me away and holding me at arm's length, looking at my eyes, which were cast downwards. "You're shivering."

"It's really cold," I whispered.

"No shit. Your window was wide open when I came up here. Haven't we talked about this before? It's not safe to leave your windows open at night."

"They…they were open? No, no, no, Dally, I shut them; I remember it."

"You clearly didn't. And now the room's freezing. Go put on a jacket or somethin'."

"Dally, no. I shut the windows. _And_ I locked them. I remember it, I swear I did!"

"Yeah, and I see you took sleeping pills, too. Goddammit, C. You were probably hallucinating or something." He picked the blanket up off my bed and wrapped it around my shaking body, pulling me into a hug. I slipped my arms around his waist again, pressing him as close as I could without crushing him.

"I shut the window, Dally," I whispered. "I was really scared so I shut it."

"What the hell were you scared of?"

"Nothing…I just…I don't know. I was being paranoid, I guess." He looked at me kinda funny, and he was about to say something, but I cut him off. "I gotta go to the bathroom."

"Okay. Want me to come back later?"

"No, please stay."

"Good, I wasn't plannin' on leaving anyway." I laughed a little, but there was a random burst of pain in my stomach that cut off my laughter.

"Um…I'll be right back," I said quickly, dashing out the bedroom door and running down the hallway to the bathroom.

I took a look in the mirror. I looked normal. My long hair was tangled, which was normal since I just woke up, and my eyes looked kinda tired, but that's not new. I don't get that much sleep as it is. I quickly did what I had to do and brushed my teeth. But as I was reaching for my hairbrush, I heard something.

"_Never…never…never…"_ Low. Raspy. Distant. My heart instantly started racing and I had a little mini-panic attack. I tried to push it out of my head as I ripped the brush through my brown hair.

"_It's too late…too late…too late…" _the voice sounded closer than ever. I dropped the hairbrush onto the counter and ran back into my bedroom. I expected to see Dally still sitting on the bed, but he wasn't. He was nowhere in the room.

"Dally?" I called nervously, my voice shaking along with the rest of my body. "Dally? Dally!"

"I'm right here, babe," his voice came from the doorway, and I jumped before running into his arms. He hugged me back, wrapping his muscular arms tight around me. I rested my head on his chest, listening to the heartbeat that soothed me the day before.

"I love you," I sighed, still trembling.

"What's with you?" Dally asked, smoothing my hair down. "You're acting really weird today."

"I'm not acting weird," I said quickly. "I just really love you so much."

"I know, I know," he chuckled. "But are you sure you're okay? If anyone's giving you any trouble…"

"No, Dally, it's fine. I'm just tired, I guess." My arms tightened around him as he rubbed my back in circles.

"You didn't look like you were sleeping well," he mumbled into my hair. "You were tossing and turning. Oh, and you were trembling."

"I…I'm sure it's nothing, Dal," I lied. "It was just some nightmare, or somethin'."

"You ever wanna talk about it, I'm here. You know that."

"Thank you."

"No problem, babe. And listen, you take sleeping pills again, I'll skin ya, ya hear? Those aren't good for you, you might accidentally overdose or something."

"I'm not that stupid."

"I didn't say you were." He buried his face in my hair. "Just watchin' out for ya."

"I love you so much, Dallas," I sighed. I couldn't get that nightmare out of my head. The words of the judge and security guard kept bouncing around inside my brain. I knew Dally wouldn't say he loved me back, but I didn't really care. I knew he loved me, I could see it in his eyes.

"You _sure_ nothing's botherin' ya, kid?" His eyes looked slightly worried now.

"Would I lie?"

"Ya kiddin'?"

"I'm fine. I love you." He responded by pushing me up against the wall and kissing me. It was aggressive, but gentle at the same time, if that makes sense. But I was used to that. Dally was careful not to hurt me, but he couldn't help but be a little rough. I mean, he's Dally. Usually, Dally's the dominant one. He leads. But something came over me this time. I don't know what it was, I just felt the urge to press myself to him as close as I could and tangle my fingers through his messy hair, keeping his lips locked onto mine forever.

So, somehow, and I have _no_ idea how it happened, trust me, we ended up pretty much making out on my bed. Usually, I could control myself before it even got _close_ to that point, but I couldn't then. Because what if I lost Dally? What if something happened where it came to the point that I'd never see him again? All I could think about was that nightmare. I hated those thoughts, but they were haunting my brain. So my usual self-control was a little less than what it should've been and normally is.

Surprisingly, _Dally _was the one that pushed me away after a while. He grabbed my hands from around his neck and held them in his lap. He sighed deeply, stroking the palm of my hand.

"Seriously, what's with you?" he asked.

"What? Nothing."

"That _wasn't _normal. You would've stopped me before we got to the bed."

"We still aren't doin' anything, Dal. Don't get your hopes up."

"Shit," he muttered, smirking a little, and I glared at him. "Aww, I'm kiddin', babe. I know your stupid rules, and as much as I hate 'em, I respect 'em."

"Good boy," I smirked back. He made a face.

"I'm not a good boy. Don't you _ever_ call me a good boy again. I like being bad."

"Part of why I love ya, babe." I pecked his lips softly.

"Well…wanna go over to the Curtis'? I'm sure someone's there."

"Sure."

But we didn't go anywhere for a while. We just lay in my bed, silently cuddled up next to each other for another hour.


	3. Chapter 3

**(****Another very sucky chapter from the one and only Mrs. Winston! WOOP WOOP! Sorry guys, anyway, the next chapter has more of the rest of the gang in it, I promise! And yeah, this is kinda a bad chapter but it's sorta important so I hope you like it! Please review and thanks for reading!)**

**Chapter Three**

Eventually, we _did_ go over to the Curtis' house. We got up—well, actually, _I_ got up. I had to drag Dally up with me—and went downstairs.

"Got a smoke?" he asked smoothly. "I used my last one."

"You know I don't smoke." He groaned.

"Guess I gotta steal some then." I rolled my eyes.

"You're not stealing anything, Dallas."

"Watch me." He was serious, too. So in order to save him from getting arrested, I pulled open the kitchen drawer where my parents kept their cigarettes. I threw a pack at him, and he caught it expertly, of course. "Thanks."

"You gotta stop smoking. It's not good for you."

"Does it _look_ like I give a shit?"

"_I _give a shit," I poked his nose playfully and mentally scolded myself for swearing.

"_I _don't care. Smoking relaxes me." We walked out the door and I pulled it shut behind us.

"Find something else to relax you. Something better for your health."

"_You _relax me." He lit the cigarette in his hands and stuck it between his lips.

"Aren't I better than cigarettes?"

"No." He was kidding and I knew it, but I faked a sad puppy look. "Aw, c'mon," he slung an arm around my shoulders. "You know you're the best."

"I know," I joked.

"You better. It's just an addiction, y'know?" I nodded.

_"An addiction that'll kill him…"_ I heard in my ear. I jumped about three feet. But when I spun around, nobody was there. A shiver went down my spine.

"What the hell's the matter with you?" Dally asked.

"Nothing…sorry." I could tell he knew I was lying, but I guess he didn't know what to do about it, so he just kept walking, and I was glad he did.

* * *

Over the course of the next few days, the voice popped up quite a few times. Whether I was doing homework with Ponyboy and Emily, sitting in the lot with Johnny and Olivia, helping Steve fix some car (more like sitting there_ watching _him fix some car), or going to the movies with Dally, I always ended up hearing it at least three times a day, if not more.

It—he—kept saying he would introduce himself soon. Soon. When was soon? I wanted to be able to talk to him _now—_so I could tell him that Dallas Winston was my boyfriend and to stay away from me if he knows what's good for him.

And then I came back to my senses. _Ghosts don't exist._ I was hallucinating the whole thing with Mrs. Curtis. I was so paranoid that I was dreaming that a low raspy voice was talking to me. It was all in my head. It had to be. It was a coincidence that I've been having really bad nightmares every night since my imaginary visit from Mrs. Curtis. It was a coincidence that I felt the air get about twenty degrees cooler when the voice was talking to me. Everything was a coincidence. _Ghosts aren't real._

One night, I was spending the night in Dally's room back at Buck Merrill's place. We weren't doing anything. Dally was laying in his bed, half asleep, and I was sitting next to him, just watching him and stroking his hair.

"I love you," I whispered softly.

"I know you do," he mumbled. His eyes were closed.

"Ya feelin' alright?"

"Yeah. Just tired." I laughed softly.

"You're _so _cute."

"You _know _I hate that word, babe."

"I really can't help it. You look adorable."

"I'm _sleeping_."

"That's why you look cute, though. And you're not sleeping."

"Well, I'm tryin' to. C'mon, lay down. And quit messin' with my hair."

"I gotta go to the bathroom first," I protested.

"Then _go_." He opened his eyes. "It's right across the hall."

"I don't wanna get up," I whined.

"If you're not up in five seconds, I'm forcing you to lay with me and I'm not letting you up again. So if you gotta go, go now."

"Ugh, fine," I groaned, pushing myself off the bed. I pulled the door open and was about to shut it behind me.

"Hey," Dally stopped me.

"What?"

"I want you back here in five, alright?"

"Sure, Dal."

"I'm serious. A pretty little girl like you wanderin' around out there ain't the safest thing."

"Aww…" I teased, but I was blushing.

"Shut it. I'm timin' ya. Go."

"Fine, I'll be right back." I started to shut the door again.

"Wait." I sighed, leaning in the doorframe.

"What?"

"I love you."

"Aww, Dally…I love you too."

"Alright, go. Remember, five minutes. Clock's tickin'."

"Yes, sir!" I joked, saluting him and closing the door behind me.

The bathroom was right across the hall, but the hallway outside Dally's room was dark. Music floated up the stairs from the party on the ground floor. Dally wouldn't even let me _see_ one of those parties, not that I wanted to. Why would you wanna be at a party where people are getting drunk and half naked? God, some of the dresses those girls wore…

Anyway, I hurried to the bathroom, snapped on the light, and shut the door. Surprisingly, the bathroom was neat and organized. Then again, most party-goers used the bathroom downstairs. Now _there's _a sight I wouldn't like to see.

I quickly did what I had to do and washed my hands. The soap smelled good. Like watermelon. I tried to fix my hair, too, so I at least looked _decent_. I really think Dally could do so much better than me, but I'm not complaining. Either he couldn't see it, or chose to ignore the fact. I finally turned the light off and twisted the knob.

But it didn't open.

I jiggled the doorknob a little. It locked from the _inside_, so it couldn't be locked…could it? I took a deep breath and continued to push, twist, and pull on the rusted knob. Maybe it was just stuck.

"It's not stuck," a voice came from behind me. _The _voice. I whipped my head around, my heart pounding in my chest. Nobody was there. But it sounded so close, so _real_.

"Boo."

I screamed as a rough hand slapped over my mouth.

"Shh…." The deep voice continued, his cold breath in my ear. "We don't wanna alert Mr. Winston of my presence, now, do we?" His voice was terrifying. It sent a shiver though my entire body at his first word. I let out another scream, which was muffled by his hand.

"Quiet," his voice changed from soothing to harsh. "Now I'm gonna let go of you so we can talk. You're _not_ gonna make _any_ noise. Got it?" I nodded. I debated screaming anyway, but maybe this guy would give me some answers. So I decided against it.

He slowly and cautiously took his hand from my mouth, and I stayed quiet. He spun me around to face him. I gasped at what I saw. Fear flew through me, leaving me trembling.

It was the face and body of my ex-boyfriend. The abusive one. Luke. But that's not possible, because Luke's gone. Up in heaven, or down in hell, I'm not sure which. Point his, he's dead. It's unfortunate, but true.

"I'm not Luke," the guy said, seeing my expression. "I know the kid, though." He chuckled. "Funny guy."

"Who the hell are you?" I asked shakily.

"Quiet, my dear, I told you I'd explain."

"I gotta go," I whispered. "My boyfriend's waiting for me."

"Mr. Winston can be patient." His voice was harsh again.

"Who _are_ you?" I repeated, stepping backwards, away from him.

"_I'm anyone you want me to be_." I watched in horror as his face, his body, and his eyes all twisted and flipped. They were changing.

And now before me stood Ponyboy. He looked identical to Ponyboy with his bleached hair and bright green eyes. But it wasn't Ponyboy. I just saw him change. It wasn't Ponyboy. The boy looked up at me with an innocent expression.

"Ponyboy Curtis." His voice was still deep and raspy, though. It didn't fit his face. His body twisted again. This time, it was a tan boy with dark, puppy dog eyes.

"Johnny Cade." Again, he changed. My heartbeat continued at its panicky, rushed pace. Gray eyes, sideburns, and a big smile.

"Two-Bit Mathews." He continued flipping quicker and quicker.

Sodapop. Darry. Steve. Emily. Adeline. Olivia. Helena. Arika and the other Emily from school. Aneesa, my science partner. The pretty blonde Soc in my gym class. Shreena and Paloma, two girls in my math class. Joel, Adeline's ex-boyfriend. Tim Shepard. Buck Merrill. He kept switching, faster and faster until it was just a blur. I couldn't tell who anyone was anymore. Until he finally stopped on one.

"Dallas Winston. You want Dally? I can give you Dally." It looked just like him, just like everyone else did. The only thing different was the voice. It was still the same voice it always was, haunting my dreams and floating around in my head.

"You're not Dally," my voice came out in a whisper. "That's not Dally's voice." He gave me one of my boyfriend's devious smirks, then cleared his throat loudly.

"How 'bout now?" Perfect. It was exact. Deep and smooth with the New York accent.

"You're still not Dally," I continued to whisper.

"It'd fool anyone, babe." It sounded so real. It sounded just like Dallas Winston. But it wasn't, and I had to keep that in mind. I was scared, and I wanted Dally. I wanted to hug him and feel his arms around me. But the person in front of me _wasn't_ Dally. It wasn't even a _person_. A person can't change who they are in a matter of seconds. More like an alien or a ghost. But that's ridiculous. Ghosts don't exist.

"They most certainly do," the Dally look alike continued.

"What?"

"Ghosts exist. You're standing right in front of one, aren't ya?"

"You're a ghost? Wait, I didn't even ask that out loud…did I?"

"Ah, dear, you're so young and…how do I put this?…foolish." His speech pattern sounded weird with Dally's voice. "Clearly, I'm a ghost. You didn't think _humans_ could do this stuff, did you?" he cocked an eyebrow. I shook my head. "I wouldn't be an alien, stupid. Aliens don't care about the human race."

"I didn't say anything about aliens…"

"Oh, but you're thinking it, aren't you?"

"You're a mind reader?" He stepped closer to me, and I backed up a little more. He reached out and grabbed my arm, pulling me closer to him again. His fingers felt like ice through my long-sleeved shirt. Not like Dally's at all.

"How else would I know _everything_ about you, dear?"

"You don't. Nobody does. Well, except for me."

"I know more about you than _you_ do yourself." He changed again. It wasn't Dally anymore. Now I was staring back at myself. Long brown hair, and brownish green eyes. He made me look a little prettier, somehow, though. I looked identical to me, maybe just a little skinnier. And my eyes shined like diamonds. That was different from the normal me. He—she, I'm not really sure anymore—cleared her throat again.

"I can be _you_. For an hour, for a day, for a month, maybe for years. I can destroy your life—destroy _you_—just by pretending to _be_ you. I can make everyone hate you." It was my voice now. But for the first time, I noticed the little electric buzz in the background. It was really faint, but noticeable.

"I'll just tell them what's happening." My voice came out confident, and I silently thanked it for doing that. "You've got nothin' on me."

"What're ya gonna tell them?" It was the most attitude I've _ever _heard thrown into my voice. I can only describe it as one word: bitchy. "_Guys, there's a ghost haunting me! I didn't push Johnny down the stairs! I didn't stab Sodapop with his own switchblade! It was a ghost _pretending_ to be me!"_ They'll think you're _crazy_, Corrin. They'll send you to some mental institution."

"You do _any _of that, and I _swear_ I will _kill _you."

"You've got nothin' on me," my voice mocked my own words.

"Can you, like, change back into your _original_ body? It feels kinda weird talking to myself."

"Thought you'd never ask." My copy's lips curled into a dangerous smile. I didn't even know I could do that. My features twisted and turned into an image that scared me beyond belief.

The eyes were red. That was the first thing I noticed. Red eyes that bore into me, reading my thoughts and observing my every move. Red eyes that filled me with fear.

They were bright red, not some dull red. The figure was humanoid, so the eye looked pretty much like a human eye. Except it was red. Red like the lights on a Christmas tree. They were glowing. And for a while, I couldn't take my hazel eyes off of those red ones. They were hypnotizing, but terrifying.

As soon as he—I was pretty sure it was a "he"—changed into his original form, the bathroom felt a million degrees colder. His hair was white. Not even like a light blonde, but a pure white. He looked almost human, but yet so…not human. His body looked like a guy in his late teens or early twenties, maybe around Dally's age. He was dressed in black from head to toe, making his piercing eyes and abnormal hair stick out even more. He didn't look opaque anymore, either. He looked transparent.

Yet, when he reached out to grab my shoulders, I felt it. I felt like my heart was freezing over, that's how cold his touch was. But it felt normal, aside from the cold. If I closed my eyes and ignored the cold, I could've told myself it was Emily, or Johnny, or Olivia, and still believe it. It felt just like a normal person would've.

Until the bare skin of his fingers touched my slightly chapped lips. I felt an electric shock through my whole body, and I couldn't breathe for a second.

"Look," I reasoned when I recovered, "I _really _gotta go. Dally's gonna be mad that—"

"Is that all you care about? Dally's approval; Dally's happiness?" His voice was back to his original voice, too, the one that sent shivers through my body.

"He's my boyfriend. Of course I care about that." The red eyes looked into mine, squinting a little as if he was evaluating me; evaluating my thoughts.

"Well, goodnight. Don't think this is the last time you'll be seeing me, my dear. I can't wait to get to know you even better. Now try to get some sleep." He dropped his hands from my shoulders.

"Leave me alone. Don't come back," I commanded. He let out a little laugh.

"Goodnight."

"'Night."

"Oh, and Corrin?" He stopped me as with my hand on the doorknob.

"Yeah?"

"Your five minutes are up." He disappeared at the same time there was a loud "pop" from the doorframe, and the door opened again when I twisted the knob.

I sped across the hall to Dally's room and pushed the door open. The light was still on, but luckily the shirtless boy was asleep, snoring softly. I couldn't help but smile as I turned the light off and climbed into bed next to him. As soon as I lay down, his arms automatically found me and pulled me closer. The unease in my stomach calmed a bit, and my body instantly relaxed in his embrace. I concentrated on his even breathing and the slight movement of his bare chest. I could hear his heartbeat, which lulled me to sleep within a few minutes.

* * *

"Corrin, babe, wake up," I heard distantly. It was Dally's voice. I just had to find him. I struggled to do so. I couldn't open my eyes, no matter how hard I tried. I felt a hand shaking me gently, but I couldn't pull out of the darkness. My eyes wouldn't open, and I couldn't stop myself from seeing the nightmare playing over and over in my brain. I whimpered a little, losing hope of finding Dally and his smooth voice.

"It's just a nightmare. C'mon," I heard as if it were miles away. It's just a nightmare, I tried to comfort myself. Dally said so. He knows. Open your eyes, I told myself over and over, just open your eyes. Something else was telling me otherwise, though. It was pushing down on me, keeping me from breathing freely. Maybe I'd suffocate. As long as it didn't hurt Dally, it would be okay. If Dally got hurt, I'd be really sad. I whimpered quietly at the thought. There's this terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach telling me that Dally's gonna get hurt. It's making my tummy hurt real bad. I might throw up. I don't feel so hot, anyway.

Something pressed up against my lips, and I couldn't tell what it was at first. It was warm, though. It made the pain in my stomach decrease a little. Relief washed over me as I realized that this is what I was looking for all along: Dally. And then I was able to open my eyes. They quickly tore up a little, trying to get used to the bedside lamp's light.

"'Morning, Dally," I whispered against his lips. He was on top of me.

"Jesus, kid, you alright?" he mumbled, not moving from his spot.

"Fine." My voice cracked thinking about the nightmare that I was stuck in a few minutes ago. I sat up a little, pushing him off me.

"Hey, I liked it there," he complained. I wrapped my arms tight around his torso and rested my head against his bare chest, finding comfort in his steady heartbeat, as usual. I noticed my chest was heaving up and down and I was shaking. Calm down, I told myself firmly. He's gonna notice, too. Unfortunately, he did, since I couldn't calm myself down.

"Bad dream?" he asked, hesitantly wrapping his arms around me. I shook my head. "C'mon, don't lie. You're trembling."

"Am not," I lied again. He chuckled quietly.

"You're okay," he reassured me, stroking my back lightly. "I'm right here." I nodded, taking slow, deep breaths through my nose to keep from crying.

"I know," I whispered, unable to keep the tears from falling. Dally held me out at arm's length, watching the stupid tears slip as I tried to wipe them up.

"Wanna talk about it?" I shook my head this time. I sensed his eyes on me, even though mine were glued to my lap. "Babe, c'mon. You've been acting weird. Something's bothering ya."

"It's really nothing," I said hesitantly. "I'm just…scared. I dunno." I shrugged.

"Of?"

"Umm…I…I just don't wanna lose you," I sighed honestly.

"That's what you're worried about?" he asked incredulously. I nodded, wiping the tears from my eyes with my sleeve. He sighed heavily, running a hand through his messy hair. "That's so stupid."

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I didn't mean to wake you up. You can go back to sleep now. Goodnight." I reached over to turn the lamp off, but Dally stopped me.

"You wanna talk, I'm here, C. Remember that. You don't gotta be scared."

"I love you, Dally."

"Love you, too, babe. I hope you know that." His arms tightened around my waist. "Now go back to sleep. I'm right here; you have nothing to be afraid of." I nodded, letting him pull me down into a laying position next to him. He turned the lights off, keeping his arms secure around my waist. There was a few minutes of silence before I spoke up again.

"Can you be more careful?" I asked quietly. Dally propped himself up on one elbow.

"I'm always careful," he whispered, his breath tickling my ear.

"Please, Dal, I'm begging you. I love you. I need you. You can't leave me."

"Corrin, chill," he chuckled, pulling me closer into his chest. "You worry way too much. Just breathe, alright? I'll be careful." He kissed my cheek, causing me to smile. "Now go to sleep."

"Okay. 'Night, Dally." He didn't respond, and after a few minutes I realized that it was because he fell asleep, his face buried in my hair and his arm around my waist protectively.


	4. Chapter 4

_**(I'm too lazy to write anything here...so I hope you like this chapter! please review!)**_

**Chapter Four**

The next day, I was at the Curtis house with the rest of the gang. Darry had the day off for once, so we were gonna let him do what he wanted to do all day and then we were all gonna go to see a movie at the Nightly Double. There'd be twelve of us, so it would be a little crowded, but the more the merrier.

All twelve of us were in the backyard, since the house was pretty cramped with all of us. Adeline, Olivia, and Helena were tanning on towels in the grass. It was pretty sunny out, and it was actually pretty hot, too. But there's no way I was wearing a bathing suit around Dally, much less a bikini. So I was sitting next to them, fully clothed, along with Emily, watching the guys play football. They looked like they were having a good time. It was Darry, Two-Bit, and Dally against Sodapop, Johnny, and Ponyboy. Steve was supposed to be refereeing, but he looked more like a cheerleader to me. He was jumping around and screaming really loud.

"Break!" Steve called loudly after Darry's team scored yet another touchdown. Emily and I started clapping.

"What?" Helena shot into a sitting position. "What happened?"

"Darry's team's winning," I informed her. "Forty-two to eighteen."

"Good job, Dar!" she called. Darry gave an appreciative smile to his girlfriend and ran over to her. He pecked her on the lips before collapsing next to her on her bright pink, green, and yellow beach towel.

"You ladies havin' a nice tan?" he asked, wrapping an arm around Helena's shoulders. The blonde nervously fixed her blue and pink bikini top and nodded.

"Why's it so hot out today?" Addie wondered, pulling her dark curls into a high ponytail. "It's November." Her boyfriend ran up to her and fell into her lap.

"Maybe we're having a heat wave," Soda laughed.

"Maybe," Addie giggled, kissing his nose. Dally ran over then, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind and resting his head on my shoulder.

"I take it I'm _not_ going to be seeing you in a bikini anytime soon, huh?" he whispered in my ear.

"You wish," I scoffed. "You will _never_ see me in a bikini, trust me."

"Shit," he sighed. "You're not even wearing shorts."

"I'm wearing a tank top," I shrugged. He sighed again.

Ponyboy sat down next to Emily in the grass, too. They were holding hands now, talking and laughing, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. The rest of the gang came over, too; Steve and Two-Bit. Everyone but Johnny, who was nowhere in sight.

"Where's Johnnycake?" Olivia wondered, voicing my thoughts.

"He was just here…" Two pointed out before taking a swig out of his beer bottle.

"Probably went inside the house for a second," Sodapop shrugged. The rest of us nodded in agreement.

But fifteen minutes later, when the guys were ready to start the game up again, Johnny still wasn't back.

"Maybe he's takin' a big shit," Dally suggested. Two-Bit and Steve burst out laughing.

"Dallas," I scolded. I laughed a little, anyway, though. It was kinda funny. The back door slammed and Sodapop came out.

"He's not anywhere in the house. What happened to him?" he asked. Olivia jumped up from her purple beach towel, fixing her red hair with one hand and her bikini strap with the other.

"Is he out in the front or something? Dammit, what if a Soc caught him again?" she panicked, pushing more hair from her eyes.

"Let's not jump to any conclusions, girly," Two-Bit smiled, throwing an arm around her shoulders. "We're probably overreacting." To prove his point, Johnny came out from the side of the house.

"There ya are, Johnnycake!" Steve called. "We were lookin' for ya. The game's gonna start up again!"

"Kay." Olivia ran up to him and gave him a quick hug. He didn't even hug her back.

"Love you, Johnny," she said quietly.

"Cool. Gotta go play." He pulled out of her embrace and jogged off. Olivia watched him go and then turned around, plopping back down on her towel.

"Is he mad at me?" she asked worriedly.

"Nah, he's probably just thinkin' about something," Adeline reassured her. "Don't take it personally."

"He's _never _like that, though. Ever. He's never done that."

"Olivia, just relax. Maybe something happened with his parents. You know how it is," Helena comforted her.

"Yeah," Emily agreed. "You never know what's going through Johnny's head. Right, Corrin?" I nodded absently. Of course, I was thinking something completely different about why Johnny was acting weird.

"He was fine when he was playing before," Olivia hugged her knees to her chest.

"And then who knows where he went for, like, twenty minutes?" Adeline responded. "Maybe something happened."

"D'ya think he realized that he can do way better than me and he found someone else?" the redhead asked, blinking back tears. I snapped out of my thoughts at that.

"Olivia, stop it. Johnny loves you and we all know he wouldn't do that," I scolded.

"Fine," she sighed. "I just…I don't know."

"Well, don't worry about it," Helena told her, giving her a one-armed hug. "He'll be back to normal soon, trust me." Olivia didn't look convinced.

I didn't tell her, but neither was I.

The game continued on, and Darry's team continued to beat Sodapop's team by a considerable amount. They were always at least five touchdowns ahead. Until about halfway through.

At that point, Johnny made seven in a row. Seven touchdowns in a row by the boy who was usually too afraid to even _play_ football because he didn't wanna mess something up. Within ten minutes, Sodapop's team was ahead, one hundred eight to seventy-two. Steve finally did some backflip type thing, announcing that the time was up.

"Damn, Johnnycake," Dally panted. "That was the best I've ever seen ya play."

"Yeah, well." He kicked a blade of grass.

"Good job, Johnny!" Olivia hugged him tightly. The dark haired boy simply pushed her away, not saying a word. "Whatever I did," she continued, "I'm really sorry."

"Whatever." I couldn't take any more of that.

"_Johnny_," I said through clenched teeth. "Can I talk to you for a second? Alone?" He rolled his dark eyes but allowed me to pull him to the side of the house.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I hissed.

"Showing you what I can do." He leaned against the side wall of the house. "See that? Your stupid little redhead friend is crushed. And poor little Johnny Cade didn't even do anything. But _she _doesn't know that. See how this works?" Those words didn't fit with Johnny's voice. His voice was so quiet and shy, but the words were so strong and threatening.

"Just leave them alone."

"Y'know what I realized?" His voiced changed. It wasn't Johnny's anymore; now it was the scary deep voice. "I didn't even introduce myself properly last night."

"Don't use that voice with Johnny's body," I said, rubbing my eyes. He ignored me.

"My name's Counterfeit, my dear."

"Isn't that a word?"

"Well, yeah."

"What does that mean?"

"You're not very smart, are you?" he sighed. "A _counterfeit _is a copy of something else. An imitation. A forgery. Understand?"

"Yeah, I'm not _that _stupid," I snapped. "Point is, you can't keep…wait…where's Johnny?"

"I'm right in front of you, C." His voice switched back, and I felt like the dark puppy dog eyes were seeing right through me. Maybe they were.

"No, the _real _Johnny, dipstick."

"Watch your attitude with me, young lady," he said calmly as I felt a searing pain shoot through my stomach. He didn't even move.

"How'd you do that?" I demanded weakly.

"There's a lot that I can do that you don't know about. Anyway, I think this _talk_ is over for now. There's things I gotta mess up." His eyes flashed a dangerous red for a second before returning to Johnny's normal dark brown. Before I could even stop him, he ran over to the rest of the group. I ran up behind him in case he did something dumb.

"Johnny," Olivia's voice was pleading. "I really just wanna know what I did wrong."

"Leave me alone," the copy snapped.

"Johnny, please…" the redhead was close to tears, I could tell.

"I said shut up!" he shouted. I saw what he was about to do. But before I could stop him, his hand came in contact with her cheek. My jaw dropped, just like everyone else's around me.

"Olivia…" he whispered, but the girl just shook her head, letting her tears fall, and bolted out of the backyard.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Olivia was the only one who moved besides me. Everyone else was speechless. I took off after Olivia, hoping to somehow convince her that it wasn't Johnny. But how would I do that? She'd think I'm nuts. She wouldn't believe me, and _then_ what would happen? I sighed deeply as I watched my friend collapse into the green grass and bury her already tear-stained face in her knees.

"Olivia," I sighed again, sitting down in the grass next to her. She ignored me. "You've gotta listen to me for a second."

"Just leave me alone for a while," she sniffled. I didn't listen, though. I slipped my arm around her, feeling her body trembling.

"Okay, listen," I started, but she cut me off, wiping the tears out of her pretty eyes.

"What the hell is wrong with him? He's _never_ acted like that, C. Not one time in my whole life have I _ever _seen that kind of thing from Johnny. He's always talking about how he doesn't wanna be like his dad. But what was that?" She kicked the fence in frustration.

"Calm down, Olivia," I said slowly, patting her back, but she slapped my hand away.

"Calm down? Are you kidding? He just _hit _me, C. Johnny Cade just hit me."

"I know, I know," I sighed. "But I gotta tell you something. It's serious. But I can't tell you if you're mad. So take a deep breath." She actually listened to me. I pulled her off the ground and started to drag her next door to my house. She started to resist, but then I guess she realized it was better sitting in the grass, so she let me pull her in the front door.

I shut the door behind me and let Olivia upstairs to my room. She started crying again at some point between the front door and the top of the stairs, so I pulled her into a hug.

"C'mon, Liv, don't worry. I promise it'll be okay. It wasn't even Johnny." I threw her a random sundress from my closet, which would probably be too big on her, but she slipped it over her bikini.

"I know. He didn't act like Johnny. He was like a whole different person."

"That's because…he was," I said hesitantly. "He _was _a whole different person. It wasn't Johnny, Olivia. Yes, it sounds weird, I know. But I'm telling you, it _wasn't Johnny_."

"Corrin, I know you want to defend Johnny. I know you don't wanna believe that he would do something like that. Trust me, I don't either. But it clearly _was_ Johnny."

"No, Olivia, that's the thing." I took a deep breath. "This is gonna sound crazy."

"Just tell me what you're talking about." She wiped her eyes with a tissue from the box next to my bed.

"Um…fine. I warned you, though." She nodded, signaling for me to go on.

_"Go ahead, tell her. She won't believe you, anyway."_ I ignored the distant voice.

"So, I…umm…"

"Spit it out, C."

"You're not gonna believe me," I sighed, leaning against the wall.

"Try me."

"Fine, you asked for it. There's this…guy. He's mean."

"Uh huh, go on…" she urged.

"He's not really a guy, though. Well, he is, but he's not human," I continued quickly. "He's a ghost and he keeps talking to me and I keep hearing his voice in my head and then one night I saw him and he's really scary with these bright red eyes and white hair but the thing is he can turn into different people and he turned into everyone in the gang and he can pretend to be them and have their voices because he's trying to ruin my life, he told me so." The words were pouring out of my mouth faster than I could think them.

Olivia looked at me weirdly, opening her mouth like she was gonna say something, and then shutting it. And then she opened it again.

"Corrin, I don't think you're getting enough sleep."

"I told you that you wouldn't believe me! I told you! I'm serious, though! It's been going on for a few weeks now and I keep having these really bad nightmares every night and he's always around and I just don't know what to do. But I'm telling you, Olivia, it wasn't Johnny. It was Counterfeit _pretending _to be Johnny.

"Counterfeit?"

"That's his name, he said."

"Okay, C."

"You don't believe me."

"Your eyes _do_ look more tired. I think you're not getting enough sleep."

"Because I've been having nightmares every night because of this guy! He was pretending to be Johnny because he wanted to show me how he could pretend to be _me_ and get me in huge trouble. You _have_ to believe me, Liv, it wasn't Johnny."

"Why don't you take a nap right now?" she suggested, pulling me to my bed and sitting me down on it. "You'll feel better after you get some sleep."

"Olivia, no! I'm telling the truth!" Her eyes landed on the bottle of sleeping pills that I haven't used since that one night.

"There's the answer right there," she rolled her eyes. "You probably took too much and ended up hallucinating, C."

"I haven't taken those for a week and a half."

"I'm sure you haven't," she replied sarcastically. I stood up from the bed, snatching the pills and storming out of the room. She followed me.

"Here, I'll put them right back in the closet so you'll believe me. I'm not using them. I used them once, and I took the right amount." The hall closet door had a converse shoe sticking out of it. Weird, I usually don't stick my shoes in the closet. I pulled the door open anyway.

Olivia and I screamed at the same time.

Johnny fell out of the closet. Johnny Cade just fell out of my closet. His eyes were closed, and he was slumped over on the grey carpeted floor.

"Jesus Christ!" Olivia exclaimed, kneeling down next to him. "What the hell did you do?"

"You really think _I _did that? Are you serious?" I kneeled next to her.

"He's breathing," she let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god," I ran a hand through my hair nervously. "What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know." Her voice was calm, but her eyes were full of worry.

"Kiss him!" I suggested. "That always works in movies!" she glared at me, and I shrugged. "I'm serious."

"I'm just so confused," she whispered, running her hand through her red hair, too.

"I told you it wasn't Johnny," I said. "_This_ is Johnny," I motioned to the unconscious boy on the floor.

"Corrin, that doesn't make any sense."

"It's the truth," I shrugged, shaking Johnny gently to try to wake him up.

"He's unconscious, C. That's not gonna do anything."

"Then what do we do?" I asked desperately.

"I don't think we can do anything. We just have to wait for him to wake up," she shrugged, ruffling his dark hair gently.

"Should we move him to the bed or the couch or something?" I asked.

"I don't know if we could lift him, and I don't wanna end up hurting him more." She chewed on her lip thoughtfully. "Can you just get a pillow and maybe a little blanket so he's comfortable?" I nodded, carefully stepping over the boy and running to my room. I returned with my best pillow and a small green blanket. Olivia slipped the pillow under his head and covered him with the blanket. We sat at the top of the stairs for about a half an hour, staring worriedly at Johnny, watching for any sign of movement.

We didn't get any until a little bit after that. He stirred and groaned a little, opening his eyes after a few seconds.

"Johnny!" the two of us exclaimed. He winced a little.

"Sorry," I whispered. Olivia kissed him gently.

"What happened?" he asked weakly.

"We don't know," she answered. "We were hoping you could tell us."

"I have no idea…I'm sorry." He slowly sat up and looked around. "Where are we?"

"My house," I chimed in.

"Oh, yeah," he nodded. "Glory, my head's killin' me. What did I do?"

"It's a long story," his girlfriend sighed.

"I'd like to hear it."

"I'll tell it when you get somewhere more comfortable. C, can you _please_ help me bring him home?"

"Just stay here," I suggested. "We probably shouldn't move him too much; we don't know what happened to him yet, y'know?"

"No, it's fine, C. I'll go home," Johnny shook his head. "I don't wanna bother you."

"You're stayin' here, Johnnycake," I ruffled his hair gently, so it didn't hurt him.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it. You wanna put him in my room? Or my parents' room, they're not gonna be home for a while. The bed's bigger in there, too," I laughed.

"Shut up," Olivia groaned, slapping me. I stuck my tongue out at her.

"You liked that."

"Maybe I did." We started to gently lift Johnny up. He wasn't very heavy, actually, but it wasn't really surprising. He didn't have the build of an average seventeen year-old boy. He looked more like fifteen to me, not that I'd tell him that.

We managed to get him down the hall a little bit to my parents' master bedroom. Even the master wasn't too big in our house, but it had a bigger bed, so that's what we considered it. The bed had an ocean blue comforter with a sky blue sheet set. They obviously liked the color blue, since that was the color of the walls, too. I pulled the covers back and Olivia laid Johnny in the bed, pulling them back up.

"Lay with him, Olivia."

"I don't wanna bother him," she whispered. Johnny heard her anyway, though.

"Liv, you won't. C'mon, you'll make me feel better." The redhead smiled and carefully lay down next to her boyfriend.

"Alright, well you guys have fun," I turned toward the door. "Y'know, not _too_ much, though. Call me if ya need anything, bye!" I ran out the bedroom door, closing it behind me.

**Olivia's POV**

****C shut the door behind her, leaving Johnny and I alone in her parent's room. I still didn't know what happened. Nothing made sense. How was Johnny in the Curtis' backyard one minute, and unconscious in C's closet the next? In C's _closet_. What the hell? It just didn't add up. And her whole _ghost_ story…I don't know. Ghosts don't exist, obviously. But the story made more sense. No, what am I saying? It doesn't make sense. I don't know. She's probably just not getting enough sleep and dreaming all this stuff. As for the thing with Johnny…I don't know. It didn't make sense. But I wasn't gonna say that it was because of a _ghost_. That's ridiculous. There had to be a logical explanation…right?

"Whatcha thinkin' about, princess?" Johnny broke the silence, scooting closer to me.

"Nothin'," I sighed, shaking my head.

"You look like you're mad at me," he said quietly.

"I don't know," I whispered, covering my face with my hands.

"What'd I do?" He turned his head to look at me.

"You don't remember?" He shook his head again, his dark eyes full of concern. I sighed.

"Please tell me, Olivia."

"It's just…I'm so confused, Johnnycake."

"Can you explain to me what happened?" He reached for my hand under the blanket and I gave it to him. He played with my fingers nervously.

"Okay…it doesn't really make sense. I really don't know what happened. Anyway, we were over at the Curtis house and you guys were playing football and everything, y'know?" Johnny nodded.

"Yeah…I remember that. Then after that…I'm not sure what happened."

"You went…somewhere. Nobody knew where you went and I was all worried and then when you came back I hugged you but you didn't hug back. And then you kept getting mad at me, so C pulled you over and talked to you about who-knows-what, and then when I tried to apologize for whatever I did, you got annoyed and you…" I trailed off.

"I what?"

"You…hit me."

"I…I did? Olivia…I don't remember any of that. I'm so, so, _so_ sorry." Tears were forming in his eyes, so I wiped them away.

"C keeps telling me it wasn't you. She's all worked up over something about…a ghost. She says that it's haunting her and it was pretending to be you to show her what it could do, or something like that. Sounds ridiculous, right? I thought she wasn't getting enough sleep, or she was hallucinating, or something. But the weird thing…we came here after you hit me. And when she opened the closet door…you fell out. And you were unconscious and I don't know what happened and I'm scared." I felt a tear slip down my cheek and I quickly brushed it away. Johnny pulled me into a careful hug.

"I'm sorry, Olivia." He was crying again. "I'd never hit you. I don't know what happened. Maybe I did and I just can't remember…but I love you. I would never do that. But…I did somehow…I don't know. I really don't. But don't be scared. We'll figure it out, I promise. I understand if you're mad at me, though. If I really hit you…I don't blame you."

"I don't know what happened," I sniffled. "But it just doesn't make sense. I'm not mad…I guess. Just promise me you'll never do it again, please."

"I promise. I can't believe I did that," he groaned.

"Don't worry, Johnny. I love you. I always will."

"I love you too." Our lips met for a second before we heard a high-pitched scream coming from down the hall.


	6. Chapter 6

**(PLEASE READ THIS WHOLE THING ITS VERY IMPORTANT! ****Ahhh guys your reviews are so beautiful! Like some, I just sit there staring at them for like a half an hour thinking ****_I must be dreaming..._****And then I read them to my whole family and my dad gives me a lecture on how writing this stuff is a waste of time and my mom's not even listening cuz she has her earbuds in and my siblings don't care, and my two dogs just stare at me like I'm nuts, but WHATEVER I LOVE THEM. Thank you so much for taking the time to write them, for those of you who write long ones, and thinking about wording that might not sound clever to you but sounds clever to me because I'm not that smart...but whatever. You probably didn't read any of that because nobody really reads the authors note blurbs...maybe I'll put a thingie at the beginning telling you to read the whole thing. one second. Okay, I did. There. Thanks so much and I hope you like this chapter!)**

**Chapter Six**

**Olivia's POV**

I untangled myself from Johnny's arms and jumped off the bed quickly.

"What was that?" I asked, fixing my hair. He slowly sat up, being careful not to hurt anything more.

"I should go check it out." He started to get out of the bed, but I gently pushed him back down.

"Yeah, no. You were unconscious, like, ten minutes ago."

"It doesn't hurt, though. You made it better."

"Aww, you're adorable. Now lay back down." He rolled his eyes and got up anyway, surprisingly steady on his feet. He fixed his jean jacket before following me to the door and opening it a crack, peeking out into the hallway. Seeing it empty, he opened the door just wide enough for the two of us to slip out.

"Where'd it come from?" he whispered, his eyes wide.

"Calm down, Johnny. It'll be okay," I rubbed his back encouragingly as he took a deep breath. We crept down the hall, stopping at C's wooden door.

"Ya think it was her?" he asked. I shrugged in response, knocking lightly.

"C, you okay in there?" I looked down at my worn out purple flip flops, straining my ears for a response. I got nothing. Johnny and I exchanged worried glances before I opened the door a tiny bit, peeking in. It was empty, from the looks of it. Nothing looked out of place, from what I could see. The only thing was, C wasn't in there. So I pushed the door open all the way, stepping into the girl's small room.

"C?" I turned out of the room and looked down the hallway, looking for any sign of her. "C?" My voice echoed through the empty house.

"Uh, Olivia…" I heard from in the room.

"Yeah?" Johnny was looking down at the ground on the other side of C's bed, his eyes wide with fear again. I quickly walked over to where he was looking.

C was lying on the ground, her straight brown hair spread wildly around her. Her eyes were wide open, but unmoving, and her face was pale. Her lips were pressed together tightly in a straight line, her arms nearly pinned to her sides.

"She's just…staring at the ceiling…" Johnny noted, his voice quivering a little. I gulped.

"Johnny, call Dally. Quickly."

"What can _he _do?"

"Just do it, please."

"Okay…" he said doubtfully, heading out the door. I knelt down next to her, shaking her gently.

"Corrin, ya in there?" She didn't respond. She didn't move. She didn't even blink. "Dally!" That usually snapped her out of her daydreaming, but still nothing.

"Johnny, I'm scared!" I called.

"Just relax," he called back, "I'm on the phone right now!"

"She's not even blinking!" I heard him hang up the phone and run back up the stairs.

"Dally's comin' up through the window. But I still don't know how he's gonna help." He went to the window, pulling the curtains out of the way and opening it wide.

"I just gotta find something out from him. Anyway, her heart's still beating normally."

"It doesn't look like she's breathing, though," Johnny commented, kneeling down next to me and wrapping his arm around my waist.

"Nah, you gotta look close. Her chest moves a little."

"That's good, at least." He exhaled heavily.

"Just calm down, Johnnycake. Breathe, okay?" He nodded and took a few deep breaths. At that minute, Dally expertly jumped through the window, followed by a stumbling Adeline.

"Jesus Christ, Ad," he grumbled, reaching out the steady her, "careful."

"I'm sorry, I'm not an expert at sneaking through windows," she snapped, fixing the red sundress she'd put over her bathing suit. Dal raised his hands in mock surrender.

"So what's going on?" the eighteen year old asked, standing behind us. I motioned to the boy's unmoving girlfriend on the ground in front of us.

"What happened?" he asked slowly.

"Johnny and I were in another room for a few minutes when we heard a scream…and when we came to check on her…she was like _this_." Dally licked his lips nervously.

"She looks dead," Addie said flatly.

"She's not," I interjected quickly before Dally could say anything else. "She's breathing, and her heartbeat's normal. She's just not…responding to anything."

"Have you tried to move 'er?" her boyfriend asked, kneeling down with the rest of us.

"We didn't wanna hurt her," I shook my head.

"Alright, move then." Everyone stood up and stepped back. He carefully lifted her off the floor and set her down on the bed.

"This is scary," I started pacing back and forth, but Johnny stopped me by pulling me into a tight hug. I buried my face in his chest and tightened my arms around him.

"Her eyes are freakin' me out, man," Dally whispered. "They look empty."

"Has she been acting weird lately?" I asked him, only half pulling out of Johnny's hug. Dally thought for a minute before responding.

"Yeah, actually. She's been having nightmares every night and she's all jumpy." Johnny gave me a look as if to ask if we should tell him about what C told me, but I shook my head. No need to have Dally let his anger out on _us_. Adeline collapsed into the wooden chair in front of C's small desk.

"What the hell are we supposed to do?" she demanded.

"Our only choice might be just to wait a while," Johnny spoke up.

"She's not blinking," Dally stated.

"Yeah, we know," I replied. He gently stroked her hair and sat next to her on the edge of the bed.

"Aww, Dally's adorable when he's scared," Addie teased.

"I'm not scared," he snapped.

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are t—"

"Guys, stop," I groaned. "This is serious."

"Yeah, Dally," Adeline agreed. "Stop foolin' around."

"I'm not the one who—"

"Let it go, Dal," Johnny sighed.

"Can we try to do something?" Adeline asked. "Maybe dump a bucket of water on her head?" Dally laughed shakily , pulling a cigarette out of his pocket and lighting it.

"Not while she's on the bed," Johnny shook his head.

"Yeah, if it works, she'll be pissed," I agreed. "Why don't ya try kissin' her, Dal?" He glared at me. "That's what _she _told me to do when _Johnny_ was unconscious."

"Why was Johnny unconscious?" Dally asked curiously, turning to my boyfriend. "And what was with you out there, man?" Johnny shot me a panicked look, so I stepped in.

"It was just a misunderstanding," I shrugged. "No hard feelings, nothing happened, everyone's okay."

"Okay…just don't hit her again, Johnnycake," Adeline commanded.

"Yeah, man, girls get mad at that kinda shit," the older boy chimed in, and Johnny simply nodded his head.

"I actually _really_ wanna dump water on her," Adeline jumped up from the chair. "Can we bring her outside?"

"Adeline," I scolded.

"I just want her…normal again," Dally said, continuing to play with her long hair. "It's worth a shot."

"You _can't_ be serious," I rubbed my temples in frustration.

"She's gonna be mad," Johnny warned.

"Just try kissing her first," I urged.

"Olivia, don't be stupid. That only works in movies."

"Please just try it," I pleaded, giving him puppy dog eyes that Johnny couldn't resist. He rolled his eyes and sighed heavily, leaned over, and kissed her lightly.

Her hazel eyes turned bright red.

"Jesus Christ!" Dally shouted, jumping off the bed. "What the hell?!"

"Calm down," I said shakily. "There's gotta be a logical explanation for this."

"Glory, that's creepy," Addie commented, approaching C. "What if I jump on her?"

"That might hurt her," Dally shook his head. "I'm scared, man."

"It's okay, Dally. Chill."

"There's officially something weird going on," Adeline stated the obvious.

"Ya think?" I shot at her.

All the sudden, she blinked. C blinked, and her eyes went back to hazel. Still empty and blank, but hazel.

"What do we do?" Dally buried his face in the mattress.

"Dumping water on her is still an option," Addie suggested nervously.

"Guys, she's blinking!" Johnny cried. He was right. She _was _blinking again. Dally lifted his head up, staring almost disbelievingly.

"Corrin?" Addie whispered, shaking her gently. We still got no response but the blinking. Dally leaned over and whispered something inaudible his girlfriend's ear.

She shot into a sitting position, the color flooding back into her cheeks.


	7. Chapter 7

**_(Hey, I know I just posted today but I'm bored and I decided to post again. This chapter doesn't have too much suspense at the end, so I won't leave you guys dying. Good. Anyway, oh my god I'm still loving your reviews, guys! Keep it up! I just wanted to reply to Mariah because she asked how old I am. I'm thirteen. Kinda young to date Dally, I know *sad face* that's why I made myself older here lol. Anyway, enjoy! Thanks guys!)_**

**Chapter Seven**

**C's POV**

It was way too dark. I couldn't feel anything around me. There was nothing there. All I could feel was me—and I felt an electric jolt go through my body whenever I did. There was nothing anywhere. It was like someone stuck me in a room with black walls and no windows. I couldn't see the ground, but I could feel that, too—I was standing on it. But it didn't really look like I was standing on anything. It looked like I was floating in a big black cloud. But I could see one other thing.

Glowing red eyes.

"What do you want from me?" I asked shakily, my fear apparent.

"Come here." The voice chilled me to the bone, but I decided to stand my ground.

"No." The eyes glowed brighter with anger.

"I expect obedience." Another jolt shot through my body and I crumpled to my knees. "Now come here." The pain was still there, but I managed to shakily stand and take a few small steps towards him. "Closer." One more step.

"Can you just tell me what you want from me?" I whined, my voice sounding a lot stronger than it had a few minutes ago.

"Quiet." He took the last few steps towards me. It wasn't just his eyes now. His white hair, his pale face, and his dark cloak were now visible. He was only about a foot away from me now.

I took a step back. He grabbed me by my shoulders, pulling me closer as he managed to snarl innocently in my ear.

"Aw, is the little baby scared of me _already_? I didn't even _do_ anything yet."

"N-no."

" You're not scared of me?" He raised a white eyebrow, giving me an amused look.

"Nope," I shook my head.

"You're forgetting that I can see inside your head, dear."

"Stop calling me that," I snapped, jerking myself away from him.

"Stop worrying about your friends," he shot back. "You should be worried about _you_. Look at me." My eyes stayed glued to the ground.

"No."

"Didn't I say I expect obedience?" He roughly jerked my chin up, glaring at me with his red eyes. The glow of them seemed to intensify. I didn't respond to his question, though. "You're terrified. You're scared to lose people. You're afraid that one day you'll wake up and be alone, that nobody will care anymore. You're weak."

"Am not," I snapped again.

"You are and you know it," he chuckled.

"Just leave me alone," I pulled away again and spun on my heel, looking for a way out. There was none, though. Just black nothingness. I pulled my jacket tighter around me, suddenly becoming aware of how cold it was. I shivered. Man, I hate nightmares.

"This isn't a nightmare." I whipped around to glare at the red-eyed creature that was watching me so closely, it looked like he was scanning me.

"Yes, it is," I insisted dryly.

"If it was, your friends would've been able to wake you up by now. They wouldn't be sitting in your room, watching your almost lifeless body, fearing for your life, would they?"

"What? What'd you do?" I demanded, struggling to keep my voice steady.

"Oh, nothing, my dear." His voice was sickly sweet.

"I told you to stop calling me that."

"If this was a nightmare," he ignored me, "you'd have been awake a while ago, in Dallas' arms, listening to every lie he tells and believing it."

"What lies?" I muttered, looking away. He heard me. Or just read my mind, I don't know. When I looked back over at him, it wasn't him anymore. It was Dally.

"He doesn't love you, Corrin." It wasn't Dally's voice, not yet. "He never has and never will."

"How would you know?" I whispered, a lump forming in my throat.

"I can read minds, my dear. Can you?"

"N-no…"

"Exactly. You're his toy, dear, just like any of the other girls he's ever been with." He took a small step closer with every word. He cleared his throat, changing his voice. Then, it was Dally's. "Just like Sylvia. And the girl before that, and the girl before that, and the girl before _that_…should I continue?"

"Why're you doing this?" I sighed desperately. "What's the point of you telling me this?"

"Because," he was right in front of me now, snaking his arms around my waist. Well, Dally's arms. And it took all the strength in my body not to sink into those arms and sob into his chest. But it wasn't Dally, it was Counterfeit. So I couldn't do that. I pushed away. "You're foolish to believe a boy like Dallas Winston. Once he gets what he wants, he's gone."

"I don't believe that," I choked out.

"_I'm_ the mind reader. When _you_ can read Mr. Winston's mind, you'll see it for yourself."

"Just get me outta here."

"Fine. But you'll be back soon, trust me."

"Whatever," I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Excuse me?" I would've repeated it, but I didn't want him to change his mind about letting me go.

"Can't wait," I smiled sweetly.

"Before you go…" he stopped me, giving me a warning glare.

"What?" I said as politely as possible.

"It's not gonna be okay. Nothing will be, ever again. Remember that."

And the worst bolt of electricity I've ever felt shot through my body.

* * *

I shot up straight in my bed, my heart racing. I was staring at four people: Dally, Johnny, Addie, and Olivia. Dally was right next to me, and he pulled me into a really tight hug, stroking my hair softly.

"What just happened?" I hesitantly wrapped my arms around my boyfriend, rubbing his back comfortingly. The only thing bouncing around in my head was the possibility that Dally didn't love me, and if that was true…I'd be crushed. Dally's my life; I'd do anything for him. Hell, I'd even die for him.

"_You're_ the one who should be telling _us_ the answer to that," Addie was looking at me like I was nuts.

"Seriously, C, what was that?" Olivia chimed in, letting go of Johnny's hand and approaching the bed.

"N-nothing. Why? What happened?" Dally pulled away far enough to look at me.

"You looked dead," Johnny whispered. "It was like when you used to completely zone out, but worse."

"You weren't responding to anything, and you were barely breathing…you weren't even blinking," Addie informed me, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"And your eyes turned red," Olivia added.

"You sure you guys aren't being paranoid?" I asked them. Sensing Dally's tension, I slipped my hands into his jacket and rubbed his back in circles through his thin t-shirt. I felt him relax a little as he buried his face in my neck. "Hey, it's okay," I whispered in his ear.

"We all saw it," Johnny protested. I shook my head a little.

"What time is it?" I asked, changing the subject. They all gave me a weird look.

"Five-thirty," Adeline answered anyway.

"Are we still going to the Nightly Double?" I was pretty desperate to change the subject. Because, of course, I knew what just happened. I didn't know what _they_ saw, but I knew what happened to _me_. And how was I supposed to explain _that?_

"I think so," Olivia answered my question. "Are you feeling alright? You can stay home if you want."

"I'm fine," I shook my head. Dally pulled away from me, and I stood up, stumbling slightly.

"I still think we should do something," Addie said. "What if that happens again?"

"Seriously, I'm fine," I lied. "I'll be okay."

_It's not gonna be okay. Nothing will be, ever again. Remember that._

"Well," Olivia sighed, "we _do_ have to start getting ready to go with everyone else. It's gonna be dark soon."

"Exactly!" I exclaimed a little bit too quickly. I sensed Dally's eyes on me, but I tried to ignore them. He stood up along with the rest of us, though, crossing his arms over his chest.

Olivia walked out my bedroom door, leading the rest of us down the stairs and towards the front door. I held it open as everyone but Dally filed out, saying they'd see us soon. Dally hung back, but I didn't mind.

"Well…I gotta get ready," I said quickly, shutting the door behind Addie. "You can stay here and…do…whatever, if you want." I slipped past him, moving to go up the stairs, but he quickly reached out and grabbed my wrist, pulling me into his chest. "Dally," I giggled, trying to pull away, but he held on tighter.

"I hope you didn't think you were gonna get away _that_ easily," he chuckled into my hair.

"Get away from what?" I asked innocently, wrapping my arms around his torso in a hug.

"Don't you play that game with me," his voice sounded amused as he pulled away to look at me. I kept my gaze aimed at my sneakers. "Look at me, Corrin." I ignored his command, noting how dirty and beat up my black and white shoes were. Maybe I'd get new ones. I probably didn't have money for new ones, though. Dally's shoes looked new. I'd bet you a hundred dollars he didn't actually pay for them, though. "Look at me," he repeated.

"I am."

"No, you're not."

"I'm looking at your shoes. They're tuff." He heaved a sigh before lifting my chin with his thumb, forcing me to look at his face.

"Look in my _eyes_, please." I sighed I defeat, obeying and locking my eyes with his.

"Good," he said slowly. It looked as if he was reading me like a book. "Thank you."

"Dally, I—"

"What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Bullshit," he scoffed. "I actually wanna help, for once, kid. I actually care about you, and I knew you better than you think I do."

"_I _know you better than you think I do, too," I countered, breaking eye contact.

"Maybe you do," he admitted. "You're better with emotions than I ever gave you credit for. But you're underestimating me, and I don't like it."

"I'm not underestimating you at all," I protested, turning to go back up the stairs, but he stopped me again by pinning me up against the wall.

"Something's goin' on, C. So what is it? Problem at school? Anyone's ass I gotta kick?"

"No, Dallas." I shook my head. He continued to give me a weird look.

"Are…are you cheating on me?"

"Dally! Of course not!" Did he really think I would do that? I sighed in frustration, running my hands through my brown hair. Dally did the same.

"Okay, okay. I'm just makin' sure."

"Y'know I'm not, right?" I asked nervously.

"Calm down, babe. Yes, I know."

"Good. I'd never do that, I swear."

"I know, babe, I know. Relax." I breathed in deeply, trying to calm my frantic heartbeat. "So, if that's not it, what's the matter with you?"

"Dal, it's nothing. I'm just…a little more stressed out than usual, that's all." Okay, I was a _lot _more stressed out than usual, but it wasn't a _total_ lie. He sighed again.

"Alright, I don't think that's completely true, but whatever. If you ever need my help, just ask, yeah?" I nodded. "Good."

"I love you," I whispered. He pushed me up against the wall again and kissed me roughly. I kissed back, trying to be gentle, but it was impossible with the way he was kissing me. When he finally pulled away, he rested his forehead against mine for a second.

"Love you too," he whispered back. I smiled at him. "Go get ready, then. We gotta leave soon." He kissed my forehead before heading over to the front door. "See ya."

"Kay, see ya. Love you." He shut the door behind him.

I climbed up the stairs quickly, going to my room and shutting the door tightly behind me. It was already getting darker; the sun was starting to set.

I let out a sigh of frustration before heading to my closet to find something to wear. My clothes were wrinkled and messy from earlier, anyway. The only thing that I thought looked decent was a black tank top and a knee-length hot pink skirt. I quickly pulled them on, tucking the shirt into the skirt. I put on light makeup, just eyeliner and mascara, plus a little bit of lip gloss.

I closed the cap on the lip gloss when I was done and set it back down on the dresser. I went to the bathroom to brush out my long hair. When I got it as neat as I could, I headed downstairs.

I froze on the stairs as I heard a crash coming from the kitchen. I instinctively reached for where my pocket would've been if I was wearing jeans, which is where I keep my switchblade. I cursed under my breath as I remembered that I left it in the pocket of my leather jacket, which was hanging on the kitchen chair.

I crept down the stairs as quietly as I could, my heart pounding. But something seemed a little off. The light in the kitchen was different. It looked blue, almost. And then something in my head clicked. I nearly stumbled down the rest of the stairs and quickly entered the small kitchen. Right away, I could see that my parents had been there earlier. Dirty dishes were piled in the sink and there were empty beer bottles scattered across the table.

And Mrs. Curtis was nonchalantly leaning against the kitchen counter.

"H-hi," I squeaked hesitantly.

"Oh, hello, sweetheart," she smiled warmly, but it looked almost sympathetic. "Sorry if I scared you. I accidentally knocked over an empty beer bottle...but don't worry, I cleaned up the mess. Anyway, how've you been doing?"

"Fine," I lied, returning her smile with a small one of my own.

"You don't have to lie to me, honey," she laughed a little. "I know what's going on."

"I'm alright," I lied again. "I can handle it."

"I'm sorry I can't do much to help," she sighed sadly. "I've stalled him a few times, but then sometimes he's just too much."

"Don't even worry about it, Mrs. Curtis," I said as cheerfully as I could. "Like I said, I can handle it."

"Maybe you can for _now_, Corrin," she approached me cautiously, like I was a stray dog and she was trying to catch me. Like she was afraid of scaring me. "But it'll get worse. And I'm going to do anything in my power to keep you and the others safe."

"Don't tire yourself out," I pulled my shoes back on over my sockless feet and shrugged into my jacket. I fingered my blade through the leather's pocket, making sure it was still there. It was. "He's not _that_ bad."

"You really believe that?" she asked doubtfully.

No. "Yeah."

"Dally's worried about you, y'know." She smoothed my hair back.

"No, he's not," I shook my head. "He has no reason to be, anyway." Her hand was cold.

"Corrin, honey, everyone's worried about you. They care a lot more than you think they do. _I'm _worried."

"You're the only one who even knows what's going on," I rubbed my eyes.

"Yeah, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that something's up with you," she informed me. "Dally knows you really well. He understands you a lot better than you think he does." Funny, I thought that was the other way around.

"It's fine," I sighed. "He'll be okay. Besides, I can't tell him what's _really_ going on."

"Why not?"

"Um, hello? He'll think I'm _nuts_."

"But maybe if you tell him how uncomfortable you are, he'll believe you."

"Or he'll send me to an asylum."

"He wouldn't go that far," she reasoned.

"You don't know that," was my reply.

"Just _try_ sweetheart. Try to explain it to him. He can't really do much about it, but it'll feel good to get off your chest and it'll calm him down a little bit."

"Calm him down?" I asked incredulously. "If he hears that a ghost is set on destroying my life, he'll be anything _but_ calm."

"Please try. He deserves to know."

"Olivia kinda knows," I remembered aloud.

"Olivia seems sweet," Mrs. Curtis smiled. Oh, yeah, she's never met Olivia. "I'm glad Johnnycake's found a girl that'll treat 'im right."

"Me too," I agreed leaning against the counter.

"My boys met some nice girls, too," she continued. "Helena, Adeline, and your sister."

"The Curtis brothers deserve it," I replied, proud of my three friends.

"I'm glad you agree with me," their mother laughed. "But I know you need to start going." I glanced out the window, seeing that the sky was already dark. A few stars were already visible. "But please tell _someone_, Corrin. You can at least tell them so you can let it out."

"Fine," I sighed, not completely sure if I was willing to tell anyone yet. "I love you." I hugged her slowly, and she hugged me back.

I shivered as I pulled away.


	8. Chapter 8

_**(Ah, you guys are awesome. Here's chapter eight! Thanks so much for reading and please continue to review! You people are the best!)**_

**Chapter Eight**

Nobody was in the bleachers at all when we arrived at the Nightly Double. It was probably better that way, though; the gang, especially the boys, could get pretty loud. It felt really cold to me for some reason, even though I was the only one with a jacket on. Even Dally, who usually refuses to take his leather jacket off in public, wasn't wearing one tonight. The girls were all wearing tank tops, some with jean vests over them, and everyone was wearing shorts. But I was still freezing. I was starting to regret wearing a skirt.

"Christ, kid," Dally whispered in my ear as we sat down on the bleachers. "Are you cold?"

Yes. I shook my head. "No."

"How're you shivering? It's a million degrees outside!"

"It _is_ pretty hot," my sister chimed in.

"It's like eighty-six," Darry added, putting an arm around Helena's waist.

"It said it on the news before we left," Sodapop agreed, and his girlfriend nodded in response.

"I'll be alright," I shrugged.

"Dally'll keep ya warm, C, don't worry!" Two-Bit joked, climbing into a standing position on an empty bleacher above us.

"Very funny. What're ya doin', Two?" I asked, trying to distract myself from the cold. Steve and Sodapop joined their friend.

"You three are gonna get yourselves killed," Helena warned as they starting dancing like lunatics.

"Nah, we won't. Besides, it's Darry's day, and Darry's havin' fun, so it's all good," Soda shrugged. He was right. Darry was smiling.

"Right now I am," the oldest smiled a little brighter. "But I'm not gonna be smilin' when one of you guys're in the hospital."

The three boys laughed.

When the first movie finally started, they were all sitting down. We decided to go to two horror movies in one night, a brilliant idea from the equally brilliant Steve Randle. I told myself I'd be brave, though.

The first movie was pretty scary. Two-Bit reassured me that the second one was even scarier, so it couldn't be _that _bad. That made me feel _a lot_ better. Not.

The first movie was about a sixteen year old boy, David, who went on a camping trip with his fourteen year old sister, Sarah. They surprisingly _looked _like siblings with their dark, wavy hair and big green eyes, even though they were just actors. David and Sarah took a dare from one of their friends to investigate a murder that took place in the woods. As they were looking around for clues and evidence, Sarah kept seeing a man dressed in black with a bloody axe and his mouth stitched shut. David thought she was pulling a prank on him, so he didn't believe her. By the time David finally _did_ see the mysterious killer, it was too late. He'd already found his little sister's head. And her arms. And her legs. And her fingers and toes. All spread out throughout the forest.

And David was next.

"This is so cheesy," Steve scoffed from behind me. I would've laughed if I hadn't been practically gluing myself to Dally's side out of fear. As I looked around, I felt better to learn that I wasn't the only one. Olivia and Emily were in Johnny and Ponyboy's laps. The boys were both rubbing their girlfriends' backs, but they looked pretty scared, too. Adeline was clenching Sodapop's hand tightly, and Helena had her face buried in Darry's chest. I let out a breath that I didn't realize I was holding. Dally rubbed my arm lightly.

"You're okay," he chuckled slightly. I nodded, resting my head on his shoulder.

There was a ten minute break between the first movie and the second one. When the first movie's ending credits started rolling, I breathed a sigh of relief and scooted away from Dally a little, apologizing.

"Anyone wanna come with me to get more popcorn?" Ponyboy asked the group. Emily, Two-Bit, and I accepted the offer. I went more to take a break from the dark bleachers than to actually get any popcorn. Dally kissed me on the cheek before releasing me to go with the other three. The four of us hopped off the bleachers and began to walk to the building that sold snacks.

"What if that guy with the axe from the movie is hanging around here somewhere?" Emily asked, her gaze locked on the group of trees off in the distance.

"Don't be ridiculous," Two-Bit laughed, throwing one arm around Emily's shoulders and the other around Ponyboy's. "That was the cheesiest movie I've ever seen! Did ya see that kid's face when he found his sister's head?" He exaggerated the boy's expression with wide googly eyes and his tongue sticking out.

"What if _you_ saw _your_ sister like that?" I asked seriously. "I don't think yours'd be that much different." He simply shrugged in response.

There were a lot of Socs waiting in line for popcorn, candy, and drinks. In fact, we were the only greasers in there. I glanced uneasily at the older boy, and I noticed Pony and Emily do the same, but Two-Bit just waved it off. Despite the bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, all we got from the Socs were a few dirty looks.

We returned back to the bleachers as the last preview started. The gang was talking in a big group again. I plopped down on the row underneath Addie, Helena, and Olivia.

"Dally didn't do a great job of keepin' ya warm, did he, C?" Addie teased, seeing the goosebumps on my legs. I pulled my skirt down as far as it would go normally, trying to hide them.

"He did great," I defended him, even though I was cold no matter what he did. "I just got cold again when I went over to the concession stand." I looked around. My boyfriend wasn't anywhere on the bleachers. "Where'd Dally go?"

"He left for a second," Olivia informed me. "He said he'd be back in a minute. He thought he dropped a pack of cigarettes on the way here or something." I nodded. The uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach was strengthening, and I couldn't do anything to stop it.

So the second movie started. It began with the creepiest music I've ever heard. I nearly jumped when it played, causing Steve to laugh at me. I glared back.

This movie was paranormal. Perfect. There was a ghost in it, but his face was never shown. The only thing you could ever see was the black cloak and pale—almost white—hands. This time, the two main characters were a girl and a boy, but they were boyfriend and girlfriend instead of siblings this time. It was typical; they started out hating each other but were forced to team up against the ghost to survive, causing them to end up falling in love. But in the end, Charlie got stabbed by the enemy. He fell to the concrete, his dead eyes darkening to black. Blood poured out of his mouth like a waterfall. And Lydia began screaming and crying and cradling her boyfriend. As she did this, pale hands gripped her shoulders roughly.

His face was finally shown. The skin on his face was nearly white, like his hands, contrasting drastically with his dark cloak. His red eyes were glowing.

I froze.

Counterfeit was on the screen in front of me. The ghostly man applied slight pressure to Lydia's shoulders, and the redhead fell to the ground, the blood pouring out of her mouth just like her boyfriend.

_"I'm coming for you_._"_

The last sentence of the movie, but I swear I heard it come from right next to me. I whipped my head around in the direction it came from, but there was nothing there. My heart was pounding in my chest; I could feel it in my throat. Dally still hadn't even come back. The thought increased the pain in my stomach. He'd been gone the whole movie…a whole hour and a half. Where'd he go?

"C," I heard. I felt knuckles rapping on my head and I flinched.

"What?" My voice came out as a whisper.

"You alright?" Helena asked me, her blue eyes wide.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Fine." I stood up with the rest of the group. I scanned every one of them, checking to make sure Dally hadn't snuck in undetected and I was worrying for nothing. He hadn't.

"Guys," I whispered, turning to Olivia and Adeline.

"What?" they responded simultaneously.

"Dally didn't come back." I chewed my lip nervously.

"He didn't?" Addie responded. She looked shocked. "It's been at least an hour."

"An hour and a half, yeah," I corrected.

"Don't worry, C ," Olivia patted my shoulder. "Maybe he got tired and went home."

"Yeah…maybe." I wasn't convinced.

We all left the drive-in, walking together in a big group down the streets. Darry talked to us the whole time about how thankful he was to have us all and how he really had a fun time. We all reassured him that we were glad to help, and anytime he needed anything, we'd be there. When we got about a block away from the Curtis house, all that were left of us were the Curtis brothers, Johnny and Olivia, and my sister and me. The rest of us had already turned down their streets to go home. Suddenly, Johnny stopped dead in his tracks.

"Guys…did someone get jumped over there?" he asked shakily. I looked in the direction he was pointing. Sure enough, there was a body lying in the middle of the street. The seven of us ran up to it quickly.

The guy was really beat up. His lip was busted and there was a big gash across his forehead. His t-shirt was ripped up, exposing his bloody cuts. Bruises covered his face, he was sporting a black eye, and I'm pretty sure an ankle is _not _supposed to be twisted that way.

The worst part is, the guy was Dally.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Hey! I feel like I haven't updated in forever, even though it's only been three days. Anyway, here's chapter nine! Yay! I wanted to respond to Kayla the guest! I randomly thought of those two movies off the top of my head, but the first one is slightly based off of Slenderman. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing, guys! I have a few questions for you, though, at the bottom. So when you're done reading, please leave a review and answer the quesions! Haha thanks so much and happy Independence Day to those of you who are American (that includes me)!**_

**Chapter Nine**

I puked.

I puked right there, right then, right in the grass next to the curb.

The boys were rushing to check on Dally. Darry told Emily, Pony, and Johnny to quickly run home and drive the truck over so we could get Dally back to the Curtis house safely. Johnny was the only one who could actually drive, but I'm sure he made his younger brother and his girlfriend go for extra protection.

I couldn't stop looking at my boyfriend lying on the cold concrete, bloody and unconscious. He looked so vulnerable. I couldn't stop throwing up. My stomach just kept pushing and pushing until eventually nothing came out. Sodapop rubbed my back gently as I shook. I couldn't breathe. Darry called Sodapop over to help him out, and Olivia took the seventeen year-old's spot.

"You need to breathe, Corrin," Olivia said slowly and clearly. "Deep breaths." I started to take a deep breath in, only to start coughing and nearly choking again. "He'll be okay, alright? We'll fix him. Darry'll make him all better." She spoke as if she were talking to a child. I wiped my eyes on the sleeve of my jacket.

"Help him, please, Darry," I managed to say before gagging again.

"Calm down, kiddo," he tousled my hair gently. "He'll be okay. As soon as Johnny gets here with the truck, we'll take him back to the house and fix 'im up, okay?" I couldn't stop coughing long enough to respond.

"C'mon, C, don't cry," Sodapop smiled brightly, trying to get me to do the same. He pulled a random tissue out of his pocket and wiped my face with it. I nearly fell into his arms sobbing, and he hugged me back, gently patting my back. "He'll be okay, I promise. He'll be okay."

Finally, the Curtis' truck screeched to a halt a few feet behind where Dally was laying. Pony, Emily, and Johnny got out.

"Is he gonna be alright?" Johnny asked nervously.

"He'll be fine, Johnnycake, don't worry," Olivia told him, kissing his cheek.

Darry and Soda carefully lifted Dally into the backseat of the truck. The rest of us piled into the trunk, where it was kinda cramped, but good enough. The world was spinning and I felt like I was gonna puke again. I was able to take a few deep breaths, though, and I started feeling a little bit better.

It took only a minute to get back to the Curtis house, but it felt like hours. Every second that my boyfriend was unconscious was a second too long. When we finally got to the house, Darry brought him inside and laid him down on the couch.

"Olivia, why don't you take C and Johnny outside for a sec to calm 'em down?" Darry suggested.

"I'm not going anywhere," I said firmly.

"Corrin," he replied back warningly.

"Just leave 'er, Dar," Soda sighed. "We couldn't keep her outta here if I carried 'er out."

"Damn right," I muttered under my breath, brushing a strand of hair out of Dally's closed eyes. I got blood on my fingertips.

I ran to the bathroom and pulled a few washcloths out of the bottom cabinet. I held them under the sink until they were damp with cold water, then I turned off the faucet and went back out into the living room.

Olivia, Johnny, and Emily were gone. Ponyboy told me they went to my house to calm down a little bit, so it was just the three Curtis brothers, Dally, and me. I blushed slightly seeing that Dally's shirt was unbuttoned so Darry could clean up the gashes on his chest and stomach. My eyes wandered up his body to the bloody gash on his forehead. My stomach flipped.

"D-Darry?" The oldest Curtis sorta grunted in response, his eyes not leaving the wounds that he was cleaning. "What're ya g-gonna do with his f-forehead?"

"Relax, C, it's not even gonna need stitches. He'll be okay, I told you that."

"What if he's not?" Tears filled my eyes again.

"He will be." He said it with such finality that I stopped talking.

I helped with the Band-Aids and the wet cloths to help his black eye and clean off the blood. Ice was the only thing to do for his lip. Soon, Darry had has cuts all patched up and most of the blood was cleaned off…except now the washcloths were completely red.

"I guess that's the most we can do for now…" Sodapop said. "We'll probably be able to help more when he wakes up."

"Wait," Ponyboy interrupted, looking up from the book he was engrossed in, "what about his ankle? That didn't look normal." He was right. I remembered his ankle twisted almost completely around as he lay on the cement in the middle of the street.

"Right," Darry remembered, too. "Pony, would ya get me another bag of ice from the freezer?" The fifteen year old dropped his book on the chair and ran back to the kitchen.

"Shouldn't we elevate it?" I asked. I grabbed a puffy pillow from the couch next to me and handed it to Sodapop, who carefully slipped it under Dally's left foot. "It's swelling up," I said sadly. I rubbed Dally's knee where it wouldn't hurt him. Ponyboy came back with the ice, and I placed it carefully on Dally's ankle.

"We probably have to clean that cut on his forehead more than once a day," Darry told me, "but it's not bad enough to need stitches, thankfully. That's one thing I _don't _know how to do."

"Where'd ya learn all this, anyway?" I asked curiously. He shrugged.

"Around. There's a lotta accidents at work with this type of stuff."

"Well, thank you _so_ much." I gave Darry a tight hug and he hugged me back.

"Anytime, honey. You gonna stay here with him? He's probably gotta be here for the night. I dunno how he's gonna walk tomorrow; you'll probably have to keep him off his feet."

"Can do," I smiled. "I'll stay with him, if you don't mind."

"'Course not. Y'know where the extra blankets and pillows are if you need anything. 'Night, kiddo."

"G'night." The other two brothers hugged me goodnight, too, and turned every light off in the house except the one in the living room where I was sitting with Dally. It was dim, but I could still see.

After about a half an hour of just staring at Dally praying that he'd be okay, I turned off that light, too. I was too shaken up to go to sleep, so I just sat on the floor next to the couch, running my fingers through his messy hair. Then I started talking to him out loud…kinda weird, but I hoped he could hear me anyway.

"Dally…I really love you," I started, looking down into my lap. "And…I know you can't hear me and this is _really _weird because I'm pretty much talking to nobody, but if you can hear me for some reason, I just want you to know that I love you so much and you mean more to me than my own life. I would take a bullet for you in a second…and I just really want you to be okay. Because I dunno what I'd do if you're not, I really don't. Thank you for being here for me all the time…and I… just love you…so much."

As the last word left my mouth, the light snapped on. And then off. And on. And off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. And the light bulb exploded, leaving the room dark again.

Glowing red eyes were glaring at me.

I jumped into a standing position so fast it made my head spin. Literally. Counterfeit was here again. Again. And just like in the movie. His white hair and pale skin stood out from the dark room, and I felt my insides shrivel up with fear.

"Nice to see you again, my dear," he greeted smugly.

"I'd say the same to you, but I wouldn't wanna lie," I replied confidently, trying to mask the fear written all over me.

"Funny, funny." His expression hadn't changed from amused. "And how'd you like my little present to you?"

"What present?" I asked, unease washing over me.

"You haven't figured it out yet?" He chuckled. "You really aren't too bright, are you?" His red eyes flickered to Dally before landing back on me. My jaw dropped slowly with realization.

"_You_ did that to 'im?" I cried.

"Quieter, dear, we don't want to wake them up." I couldn't control myself. I grabbed the collar of his cloak and pulled him closer.

"Lay a finger on him again, asshole. I dare you." He didn't lift a finger, but I was thrown against Darry's big armchair.

"I don't have to. Watch." An invisible force held me down on the ground and pulled my face to look at Dally's. His face crinkled with pain for a second. And then it was like an invisible stitch was sewing Dally's lips shut. I threw myself at Counterfeit, but he pushed me away like I weighed nothing.

"Fix it." I commanded, tears stinging my eyes. "Fix it right now."

"Maybe you should've been nicer to me," he smirked innocently.

"Please, I'll do anything, just please fix it. Please, please, please don't hurt him anymore."

"And why should I do anything you say?"

"Please," was all I could say. Tears were flowing steadily from my eyes.

"You love him so much that you're willing to die for him?" He knew the answer to that, but he asked anyway. And I responded anyway, with a nod. "Your heart is exploding with love for this man—boy—but he's no good, my dear. He doesn't love you, as I've said before. Would he take a bullet for you if he had to?"

"He said he would."

"People lie, dear. It's the biggest lesson for someone to ever learn. People lie." And he was gone.

When I looked back over at Dally, his lips were parted slightly, and although the bottom one was still busted, the stitches were gone. I was so happy that I kissed his lips as gently as I could, being careful not to hurt him. They were warm.

"C? What're ya doin' up?" Ponyboy padded into the living room.

"Um…I just…couldn't sleep," I lied. His green eyes watched me intently.

"Who were you talkin' to just now?"

"I—umm—Dally." He glanced over at the unconscious boy on the couch, and then looked back over to me. "It was a one-sided conversation."

"No, I heard _that_. Cute, by the way," he chuckled a little and I blushed. "I'm talking about _after _that. You weren't talking to Dally then."

"Yes, I was."

"You called him an asshole?" He raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"No."

"I heard you say that."

"You must've misheard me," I lied, shrugging a bit.

"What'd ya say, then?" He caught me.

"I said, umm…apple. Yeah. I asked him if he wanted an apple."

"Right," he said, holding the word out for a few seconds. "Anyway, are you alright? We've noticed that you've been acting kinda weird."

"I'm fine, Pony, I'm just tired."

"Yeah, see, that's not gonna work with me again this time. That's what you told me all the time with Luke—wait. Dal's not…hitting you, or anything…is he?"

"Ponyboy! Of course he's not!"

"Promise?" he asked nervously. "Y'know you never have to cover for someone if they're hurting you."

"Pony, he's not. I swear on my life."

"Fine, fine. But if I find out that he is…"

"I promise he's not. I told you, I'm just tired."

"Alright. Well, go to sleep then. You'll feel better if you get some rest."

"Thanks, Ponyboy," I whispered, hugging him tightly.

"Anytime. I'm here for ya, alright?"

"I know. I'm here for ya, too."

"Get some sleep, C. See ya tomorrow."

"Night."

I sighed when Ponyboy retreated back to his room and curled up into a ball on the floor next to the couch that Dally was on. It was silent for about fifteen minutes before I heard Dally's weak voice.

"Corrin," he whimpered.

"You okay?" I asked gently.

"I need you," he whispered.

"I'm right here, baby," I whispered back, squeezing his hand gently. "I'm right here."

* * *

_**Awww. Anyway, all you people! Okay so I'm on Chapter Sixteen, I believe. Pretty much all of it is packed with action, so I was wondering:**_

_**1) Would you like more filler chapters focusing more on the relationships and the gang? Or would you rather just have all action?**_

_**2) What couple would you like to see more/less of? **_

_**3) Should this story be longer, shorter, or equal to the length of **__**The Insiders**__**?**_

_**Please answer with your opinions, they'd be so much help to me because I like basing this off of what you guys want. So just think about it and leave a quick review answering the questions and maybe feedback on Chapter Nine. Please? Pretty please? For me? And Johnny? And everyone else? Thank you so much guys! You're the best!**_


	10. Chapter 10

**_Again, thank you guys so much for the awesome reviews! They mean so much! Huge thank you to everyone who responded to my questions on the last chapter! They really helped me out! Thanks for reading guys, I hope you like this chapter!_**

**Chapter Ten**

I stayed up the rest of the night, holding Dally's hand and making sure he was as comfortable as he could get. I just couldn't stop looking at him. It's not often that you see the toughest guy in Tulsa completely vulnerable and beat up. His face twisted with pain every so often as he slept, and it made me feel so guilty. I could've stopped Counterfeit from hurting him. Maybe. Either way, I had the chance to stop him and I didn't. I was so worried about him that I felt sick to my stomach. _This _was bad. But what if it happens again? And what if it goes further this time? What if he hurts Dally even worse? Or someone else?

I couldn't sleep if I wanted to. I just stayed on the floor next to the couch stroking his hair and reassuring him softly that everything would be okay, even if he couldn't hear me and even if it wasn't true. He whimpered or moaned sometimes, but stroking his cheek caused him to sigh and quiet down. And while I _hated _watching Dally in pain, I had to admit it was kinda fascinating. I've never seen him so vulnerable, so…dependent. It amazed me how much Dally hid on the inside—how he pretended to be cold, mean, and tough on the outside. I realized Dally's just like Johnny. He's just a little boy that's scared and needs someone to show him what love is, but Dally expresses himself differently. There's so many reasons why I love Dallas Winston, but that's a _huge _one.

People at school always ask me why I'd want to date a hood. Why would you wanna date someone so mean and cold? A person like Dally doesn't seem like boyfriend material. And I guess, in a way, they're right. Trust me, if you told me a few years ago that I'd end up falling in love with a hood, I'd laugh in your face. I love Dally not because he _is _cold and mean, but because of _why_ he's cold and mean. His parents abandoned him and he grew up fending for himself. He _had _to become cold and mean, because if not, he wouldn't have survived. He just needs someone to talk it out with him once in a while—that someone now being _me_—because if not, he'll explode. And that's not pretty, because when Dally explodes, who _knows_ what's gonna happen.

I sighed heavily and kissed his cheek lightly. I buried my face in his neck, being extra careful not to hurt the cut on his chest.

"Please get better," I whispered. "I love you so much."

I stayed like that, breathing in his scent, until the sun started shining through the window in the morning. I rubbed my eyes tiredly and stood up. I decided to make breakfast for the Curtises for once. They deserved it, anyway. They deserved way more than I could give them. I just made normal pancakes, considering they were the only things I could make without actually burning them. But when those were done, still nobody was up, so I returned to the living room.

Dally was trying to sit up. I sighed, knowing already that this wasn't gonna be easy.

"Ya gotta lay down, Dal." I tried to push him gently back down on the pillow, but he wouldn't budge. He pushed me away.

"What happened?" Because of his lip, it sounded like he was mumbling.

"You got hurt," I whispered, "so you're not allowed to get up." He scoffed and swung his legs over the edge of the couch. When his left foot touched the floor, he winced. It was pretty swollen and puffy; it even looked kinda purple.

"I gotta get up," he protested. "I have stuff to do today." I stroked his messy hair.

"You're gonna have to put that stuff on hold, then. Darry says you're probably not gonna be able to walk for a few days."

"What did I do?" he asked quietly, almost like he was asking himself.

"You left the group last night at the movies to go find your stupid pack of cigarettes," I informed him, "and then _that _happened to you…somehow. We found you in the middle of the street while we were walking home." Picturing that in my head again, tears sprang to my eyes. I turned away from him so he wouldn't see.

"I…just remember walking down the street," he said. "After that…nothing." I wiped my eyes on my sleeve and took a deep breath before turning around to face him again.

"You said you'd be careful," I whispered. My voice cracked.

"I _was_, babe. I told you, I'm _always _careful."

"No, you're not," I countered. "You never care about what happens to you. And I _want _you to care, Dallas. _I _care." The tears were flowing freely now, making my voice sound weird.

"Aw, c'mon, honey, don't cry," Dally said softly, opening his arms. "C'mere."

I shook my head. "I don't wanna hurt you more."

"C'mere," he repeated, pouting. I sat down on the couch next to him and carefully wrapped my arms around him, being cautious not to touch one of the cuts or bruises. He wrapped his arms around me, wincing in pain a little bit, but brushing it off.

"I love you," I whispered.

"I know, I know. You can hug me a little bit tighter, y'know, C. I'm not a wimp." I smiled a little and tightened my arms around him. He winced again.

"Sorry," I said, quickly pulling away.

"No, come back." He pulled me back in, squeezing me tightly. I smiled again and let out a shuddering sigh as he rubbed my back gently. "I love you too," he whispered into my hair.

"As adorable as you two are," Darry's voice suddenly came from the kitchen, "I think it would be best for Dal to lie down again." Dally didn't move an inch. He stayed with his arms around me and his face buried in my hair.

"C'mon, Dally, you heard 'im. Lay down." I gently pushed him off of me and helped him down onto the pillow.

The three brothers and Dally ended up eating the pancakes I made, even though they were slightly cold now from being left out for so long. They didn't really care either way. They all said thank you and finished every one of them. While they were eating, I got lost in thought. What am I gonna do? I wasn't even strong enough to hold off my ex-boyfriend…how am I gonna handle a ghost? He was worse than Luke ever was. Sure, he was scary, but he was _human_, at least. He couldn't imitate another person perfectly or hurt anyone around him without moving a muscle, like Counterfeit can. I've already been scared by him plenty of times, and he didn't even do his worst yet. I finally realized _I'm dead_. I can't get outta this one. I'm too far in already.

I was snapped out of these thoughts by Sodapop.

"Hey, C! Wake up!" I shook my head to clear my thoughts and glanced at the seventeen-year old.

"Oh, uh, hey, Sodapop," I replied.

"Welcome back, kiddo," he joked. "Can you please get me a wet washcloth from the bathroom?"

"Sure," I nodded, jumping off the couch. "What happened?"

"Dally shouldn't have sat up. Made the cuts bleed a little again." Sighing, I went into the bathroom. I wet the rag that was under the sink again and returned back to the living room.

Darry was giving Dally a lecture about how he had to listen to me today and stay off his feet. His ankle looked a little better already, probably because of the ice we had on it all night, but if he stood up, he'd make it worse.

"C knows what to do, though, Dal, so you listen to her. She's your captain today," Sodapop laughed a little.

"Who says I gotta listen to a little girl?" the injured boy scoffed back. "I do what I want." He swung his legs over the edge of the couch and attempted to stand up, but the second his foot touched the ground, he fell back down onto the couch.

"Aye, aye, Captain," he winced. I laughed a little and tousled his messy hair.

"Well, I gotta get to work," Darry announced. "Sodapop, can you clean the blood, please, little buddy?"

"Mhm," he nodded back, taking the washcloth from me. "Wanna do the honors, C?"

"What?"

"Unbutton his shirt for me," he laughed again. My face heated up.

"C'mon, babe, you can do it," Dally smirked.

I rolled my eyes and unbuttoned his shirt as quickly as I could, feeling my face turn bright red. My stomach lurched seeing the blood. Sodapop took my place and I sat next to Dally's head. Every time Soda touched the cloth to his chest or stomach, he'd cringe. I stroked his hair gently and he smiled at me.

"Like the view?" he whispered in my ear, trying unsuccessfully to wink because of his black eye.

"Lovin' it," I joked, tearing my gaze from his chest. He pulled my face closer and kissed my forehead gently.

"Don't worry. It'll be okay."

If only he knew how wrong he was.

* * *

Later, everyone was out of the Curtis house but Dally and me. I brought him my favorite blanket back from my house and covered him up.

"Smells like you," he'd said when I gave it to him.

"Sorry," I'd replied, handing him a more comfortable pillow.

"No, I like it. It's comforting." He'd snuggled into it and I laughed, kissing his nose.

Now, Dally was tired again. I didn't blame him. But he wouldn't actually go to sleep. He kept staring at me while I was reading a book.

"Dally, go to sleep," I commanded.

"I don't wanna," he whined. The tiredness was making him loopy.

"Please? You might feel better when you wake up." He shook his head again as the front door opened.

"Hey, guys," Addie greeted as she and Olivia entered the house. "Jesus, Dal, you look awful."

"Adeline," Olivia scolded.

"Sorry, it's true. I can't believe you got jumped, Dally. You're supposed to be _tough_," she teased.

"C'mon, Ad, leave 'im alone," I defended him, dropping the book and stroking his hair.

"Yeah, even tough guys break sometimes," Olivia joked. Dally glared at the two of them.

"Well, since Dally's outta commission, wanna go to the mall with us, C?" Addie asked.

"The mall?" I've never had enough money for the mall. But then again, Adeline was a Soc, so of course she did.

"Yeah, I'll pay for stuff!" she exclaimed, motioning to her purse.

"I wouldn't let you do that," I smiled. "And I gotta watch Dally."

"I'm not a baby, C," he groaned.

"Yeah, he's not a baby, C," Olivia seconded. "He can watch himself for a while." I looked over at him and his little fake innocent smile.

"C'mon, babe, just go have fun," he pleaded. "It'll loosen ya up a little bit. Take your mind off things."

"Dally—"

"I promise I won't get up. I'll try to go to sleep."

"Pinkie." I held out my pinkie and he hooked his with mine. "Fine. I'll be back soon, though, Dally, so if I find out you even got off of this couch, you're gonna be in huge trouble."

"Sure, sure," he chuckled, rolling his eyes. I gave him a warning glare and made sure he was completely comfortable and there was a glass of water and a phone on the table next to him.

"Okay, see ya later. Love you." I pecked his lips lightly before following my two friends out the front door and into the sunlight.

"So, C," Adeline said when we got in her car. It was a Socy car…I wasn't used to being in one of them. Adeline was in the driver's seat, Olivia was in the passenger seat, and I was in the back. "Olivia and Johnny are going on a date tonight."

"Aww…" I cooed.

"Shush," Olivia groaned.

"So we're gonna get her a cute outfit for it," Adeline continued. "We can get you something cute for when you go with Dally when he gets better," she offered, giving me a wink. I shook my head.

"No thanks."

"I'm not actually giving you a choice." I sighed.

We pulled into the parking lot of the Woodland Hills Mall and got out of the car. The parking lot was packed, but I figured it would be because it was Saturday. It was filled with fancy Soc cars. It was slightly uncomfortable knowing that I'd be walking through a mall full of Socs. We'd stick out like a sore thumb, since we were obviously greasers.

I was right. As we entered the front doors, a burst of air blew our hair back. And three Socs' heads immediately snapped towards us. Olivia immediately glued her eyes to the ground, but Addie pulled her head back up. This mall was really big; I'd never been inside a store so big. It had three floors and _a lot _of stores. Addie dragged us into almost every one on the first floor. There were clothes stores and shoe stores and candy stores and all sorts of stores.

"The best stores are on the top floor, though," Ad told us excitedly.

"Which stores are up there?" Olivia asked her.

"The ones we're actually gonna _buy _stuff at."

On the second floor, we went a little crazy. We were singing and dancing and going up to random people and asking them questions. I think the employees and shop owners were getting a little annoyed, but Addie said that they're always like that.

"Hey, C, isn't that your sister?" Olivia asked suddenly, cutting into the song we were singing.

"What?" I followed where she was pointing to see that it _was_ my sister. She was walking towards us, but she didn't seem to see us.

"We should scare 'er," Addie suggested, pulling us behind one of the fake trees in the middle of the walkway. We crouched down and waited for the jean jacket, short brown hair, and jeans to pass by. When she finally did, we all jumped out at her.

She didn't even flinch. She just stared at us as the three of us started laughing.

"Hey, Em," Addie giggled, going in to hug her, but she pushed her away.

"Get away from me," she snapped.

"Emily," I scolded. Olivia and Adeline shot each other a glance.

"God, you guys are so annoying. No wonder your boyfriends all hate you," she grumbled, storming away from us.

"Emily!" I called after her. She turned around.

Her eyes flashed red. Then she spun on her heel and continued down the walkway.


	11. Chapter 11

**_Hey guys! I'm gonna try to post what I've written. I officially finished chapter seventeen. So you might see more than just one chapter from me today...reason being, you guys are giving me all these awesome ideas and I already messed them up. So when I get three reviews on this chapter, I'll post chapter twelve, just so I know that you guys are reading it! Haha okay what? I dunno. Anyway, here's chapter eleven! Please review and I hope you like it!_**

**Chapter Eleven**

"Well, _that_ was bitchy," Addie flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"Did you guys see that?" I cried.

"See what? Your sister being a bitch?" the dark haired girl replied.

"No, no, no, not that. The red eyes! Did you see the red eyes?"

"What?"

"C'mon, I couldn't have been the only one that saw that! Olivia, you saw that, right? Please tell me you saw that." Olivia shook her head.

"C, you're goin' nuts," Addie laughed.

"Guys, no I'm not! Olivia, remember yesterday?"

"Corrin, I told you that you need to get more sleep. I bet you didn't sleep at all last night because you were worrying about Dally, and now you're seeing things."

"It was there! I just saw it!"

"Corrin, stop," Adeline said sternly. I sighed and leaned against the wall. Giving me one last glance, Ad continued walking. Before Olivia started following, she looked at me with this weird look in her eyes. And I knew it right then.

She wouldn't admit it, but Olivia saw it.

* * *

Later, we pulled back into the Curtis' driveway with bags of clothes and shoes. It was mostly Adeline's stuff, but she was nice enough to get three shirts each for Olivia and me, plus a dress and a pair of shoes. Olivia got a necklace and a bracelet, too, while I got a pair of tights and a hair bow. Adeline got a bunch of stuff; bags of shirts, shorts, skirts, and shoes. She could really act like a greaser, but man, was she rich. She was a Soc for sure.

We entered the house so we could all check on Dally. He was laying down, scribbling in a notebook. A bunch of paper airplanes were littered on the floor in all different places.

"Hey, Dal," I greeted, laughing a little. His concentration was on the notebook.

"What? Oh, hey."

"Whatcha doin' there?"

"Writing." Olivia and Adeline went to the kitchen, where Two-Bit was eating cake.

"Where'd ya get that notebook?"

"Two-Bit. I drew a lotta pictures and I wrote some stories and I made some paper airplanes!" He sounded like a little kid that just discovered paper.

"Two-Bit!" I called.

"Yeah?" He called back from the kitchen.

"Did you give 'im any alcohol?"

"Just, like, two bottles!" Great.

"Thanks a ton, Two."

"Sorry, he asked for it."

"Wanna see my pictures?" he asked excitedly. I rubbed my eyes and nodded, sitting down on the edge of the couch next to him. He flipped a bunch of pages in the notebook, turning to the first page. There was a picture of some stick figures, twelve of them, to be exact. He drew everyone in the gang and labeled them. All of the couples were either hugging or kissing, and then Two-Bit and Steve, the oddballs with no girlfriends, were kissing too.

"Don't show that to them," I pointed, giggling.

"I won't. I made another one, too!" He flipped to the next page. "See, that," he pointed to the stick figure girl reading a book, "is you trying to do your homework, and then that," he pointed to the stick figure boy with his arm around her shoulders whispering in her ear, "is me distracting you because it's fun." I smiled at him, poking his nose gently. He flipped the page again, showing me six more stick figures, saying one pair was Ad and Soda, and the other pair was Johnny and Olivia, and the _other _pair was Ponyboy and Emily.

"Those look really good," I laughed.

"And then I ran out of room for Darry and Helena, so I wrote a little note on the side here." He pointed to the small writing running down the side of the page.

_Helena and Darry got board so they went to have some fun._

"Oh, Dally," I laughed again. He could brush up on his grammar a little bit.

"One more picture." He flipped a few pages and landed on one that actually looked decently drawn. It wasn't a stick figure, it was actually…good. Wow. Two people were in the picture, a girl and a boy. The girl was pinned to the grass by the boy and they were kissing.

"Cute, Dal," I giggled. "That one actually looks _really_ good."

"That's you and me," he informed me.

"Aww," I laughed. He pulled my face next to his and pressed his lips to my ear.

"Can't wait to get better so I can kiss you like that again." He turned my face and pressed a firm kiss to my lips.

"Looking forward to it," I smiled, resting my head on his shoulder. Olivia and Adeline came back into the room with a piece of cake each, along with Two-Bit and his bottles of beer.

"Can I have another one, Two-Bit?" he asked.

"No," Olivia, Addie, and I said simultaneously.

"Guess that's a no," Two laughed. "Sorry, Dal."

"But I want one," he pouted.

"Later," I told him.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"What's up with him?" Ad asked, taking a bite of cake.

"Drunk, sick, and tired," I replied, stroking his hair.

"I'm not any of those things," he insisted.

"You're _all _of those things, Dal," I countered. "Ya never know what you get with him when he's drunk, though. You can get the "loopy little kid" Dally or the "I have anger issues" Dally. When he's sick, it's even worse."

"I'm not sick."

"You're injured. Counts as being sick."

"Since when?"

"Since always," I replied, covering his mouth with my hand. He pushed it off.

"Wanna see my stories?"

"_Dally_ wrote _stories_?" Olivia exclaimed, hopping off the couch and nearly knocking her cake over. "This I gotta see." Adeline snatched the notebook out of Dally's hands and flipped to the first page with writing.

"_One day, I was walking to the park with C_," she read aloud. Uh oh. "_I was holding her hand because I love her_. Aww, Dally, you're adorable." Olivia took the book and continued.

"_I wrapped my arms around her waist and told her she was gorgeous because she doesn't know that but she should because she is. _Dally, this is just so cute!"

"I'm cute!" he cried. If he just said that word…he's drunk.

_"She wrapped her arms around my neck and said she loved me and it made me happy inside because I love her too and I don't tell her enough but I hope she knows it." _Olivia continued. Adeline took the notebook back and kept going.

"_And then we kissed for forever and ever and ever because I love her, and I hope she loves me too and then we can get married. The end. _Oh my god, Dally, you are so drunk," she laughed. "You're a great writer."

"I thought so, too," he giggled.

"Damn," Olivia whispered. "We gotta show him this notebook tomorrow."

"Remind me," I laughed.

"What's this one?" Adeline said, flipping through the pages and landing on one. The whole page was filled, front and back. "Oh, a long one."

"I wanna read it!" Olivia cried, pulling the book out of Adeline's hand and started scanning the page. "Wait…Dally, is this a…_smut_?"

"What?" I cried, my face heating up.

"Better not read this one out loud," Adeline sighed, plopping down on the couch with Olivia and reading the pages of the notebook. They burst out laughing every five seconds.

"Dammit, Dal, what the hell did ya write?" I asked, hiding my face in his shoulder. He stroked my hair.

"You can read it later. Or we can act it out when I'm better."

"Dally," I hissed.

"Oh, relax, I'm just kidding," he laughed. "Maybe."

"Woah there, Dal!" Olivia cried suddenly.

"Remember, she's only sixteen!" Addie chimed in, laughing her head off. My face turned bright red; I could feel it.

"What does it say?" I asked.

"Too dirty for your innocent little mind, kid," she joked. I crawled over to her and she pointed out the paragraph. I read it quickly, my face heating up _again_.

"This is gross," I grumbled, crawling back over to the couch next to Dally and laying my head on his shoulder again. The two other girls continued to laugh.

"Dally, I can't _wait _to show this to you tomorrow when you're _not _drunk. You're gonna be _so _embarrassed!"

"I think it's time you stopped reading that now," I begged.

"Two more paragraphs," Olivia disregarded my request.

The front door opened suddenly, and Ponyboy and Emily walked in with their arms around each other.

"Hey, guys," I greeted, giving them a little wave.

"Hey, look, Olivia, it's Ponyboy and his bitchy girlfriend! Hi, guys!" she waved over- enthusiastically.

"Adeline," Olivia hissed.

"What?" Emily asked, confused.

"Guys, that's not nice," Ponyboy defended, tightening his arm around my sister.

"She called us annoying at the mall today and said no wonder our boyfriends hate us!"

"I wasn't at the mall today…" Emily said.

"Nice cover story," Adeline scoffed.

"I seriously wasn't…I was with Pony the whole day." I felt Olivia looking at me but I pointedly ignored her stare.

"I've been with her since this morning," Ponyboy backed her up. "We never even went _near _the mall. Not once. I think you guys are confused."

"No, _you're _the one that's confused," Addie protested. "We all saw her, right guys?"

"Yeah," Olivia said quietly.

"I'll be right back," I announced, kissing Dally's cheek and standing up from the couch. Everyone watched me go, but nobody questioned it, and I was glad. As soon as I got out the door, I just ran. I wasn't sure where I was going, but I needed to go _somewhere_.

I ended up at the lot after a while. I plopped down on the cement, already crying tears of frustration. _Dammit_. Why couldn't this stupid ghost thing just leave me alone? Did it feel _accomplished_ knowing that he was ruining a girl's life and making her look insane?

"The point isn't to make you _look _insane, the point is to _drive _you insane."

"And what's the point in that?" I snapped, turning to look at the red eyes. He shrugged.

"Entertainment."

"I hate you so much."

"I know you do." It started sprinkling rain, and I groaned inwardly.

"Why can't you leave me alone?" I asked desperately.

"It's your fault, you know."

"What is?" I pushed my damp hair out of my eyes.

"The death of the Curtis parents." My heartbeat accelerated considerably.

"What d'ya mean?"

"You know _exactly _what I mean, and we both know it. You could've stalled them for even one more _second _before they left the house, and they'd still be alive today. Then, none of this would've happened. Darrel would've gone to college, Sodapop would've finished high school, Ponyboy and Johnny would never have run to Windrixville, Johnny would've never gotten hurt and nearly died, Dallas wouldn't have been a millimeter away from indirect suicide, Luke wouldn't have died, and I wouldn't have been here, completely messing up your life. But since you _didn't _stall the Curtis parents for even that one extra second, all of that _did _happen. And now, you're _haunted._"

Tears were pouring as I realized that this was all true. It's always my fault, and I always know it, but my friends usually convince me that it's not…but why? There's always something I could've done that I didn't do, but if I did, it would've been so much better than what actually happened. We _needed _the Curtis parents. Sure, we managed without them, but how long would that last? Eventually, something's gonna happen that'll snap _all _of us.

"That _something_ is gonna be _me_," Counterfeit told me, his eyes burning into me. "I'll break you down until you can't take it anymore. I'll do it with every single one of you lowlifes until you're _all _gone. And it'll be _all your fault._"

The rain was coming down harder now, soaking through my clothes to my skin, causing me to shiver. My hair hung limp like spaghetti. I heard thunder rumbling and lightning flashed in the distance. Counterfeit stepped closer to me, his eyes glowing a brighter red than I'd ever seen them before.

"Dallas Winston doesn't love you," he spat. "Would he love a girl who caused the death of his idol; the first person to show him love in his life? The first person to make him feel wanted and needed? The first person who cared about him; the only person to care about him in the first decade or so of his life?"

"Shut up!" I screamed. "Just leave me alone and go away!" Thunder rumbled overhead and the rain came down harder, pounding on the wet cement underneath me. He chuckled at my outburst, reaching for a strand of my dripping hair. Before I could stop him, he grabbed a chunk and pulled me down onto the ground.

"You deserve everything you've gotten in your life," he whispered harshly in my ear. "Your parents hate you, your friends hate you, your teachers hate you…everyone hates you. You deserve what you got from them, you deserve what you got from _me_, and you deserve what you're _going _to get. _You deserve to die_." With the last word, thunder rumbled and lightning flashed at the same time. He pulled my hair back and smashed me into the cement. The world around me went instantly dark.

"Leave me alone," I whispered weakly.

"Goodnight, my dear."


	12. Chapter 12

_**Sorry this is up later than I said it would be. My friend came over and stuff and I got side-tracked. I'll probably post chapter thirteen before I go to bed though. Plus, I wanted to respond to Adeline and Olivia, who were kind enough to review on this story.**_

_**Shut up**__**.**_

_**Thanks for reading, guys. Please review!**_

**Chapter Twelve**

**__** _We were walking down a cold, dark path filled with creepy looking trees. Dally and I. I had no idea why we were there, but I kept walking forward. I still kept moving. My mind kept screaming to turn around; this wasn't a good idea. But my body didn't listen. _

_ "Dally," I whispered, my voice quivering, "what are we doing here?" Dally turned to me, his gorgeous brown eyes filled with terror. _

_ "I don't know," he whispered back. _

_ "Can we go back?" His hand grabbed mine. _

_ "Don't leave me," he pleaded. _

_ "I won't. You can come with me." Dally shook his head. _

_ "I can't."_

_ "Why?"_

_ "Please don't leave."_

_ I sighed, but repeated, "I won't."_

_ "Thank you," he whispered. We kept walking, the trail getting darker, colder, and creepier as we went. I shivered. _

_ "Where are we going?" I asked him after a few minutes of walking in silence. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders. _

_ "Don't worry about it."_

_ "But—"_

_ "Shh, it'll be okay." I stopped talking. _

_ His arm was still around me as we kept walking. I saw dark shadows running between the trees, but I figured it was my imagination. I got freaked out easily when I was already scared. And I was pretty scared at the moment. _

_ Dally stopped walking abruptly and let go of me. My heart pounded harder in my chest. _

_ "Dally?" I asked softly. My voice wasn't the only thing quivering anymore. My legs and hands were shaking hard. I pushed my hair out of my eyes so I could look at him. _

_ His eyes looked worried. Terrified, more like. He wasn't shaking as much as I was, but he was shaking slightly. I wondered why he said he had to stay here. What did he mean by that? He could leave if he wanted to. _

_ "Baby, what's going on?" I asked gently. _

_ "Don't worry about it."_

_ "Dally, please."_

_ He stared down at the ground. _

_ There was rustling of leaves behind us. I spun around quickly, my hair whipping my face because of the wind. There were four dark figures standing a few feet away. They were facing us, but their faces were hidden by the shadows. _

_ I looked at Dally, who looked really worried. _

_ "What do you want?" he asked the figures quietly but forcefully. _

_ "Same thing as always, Dallas," one of them answered in a raspy voice. My heart pounded even harder. _

_ "What's that?" my boyfriend asked. His voice was calm, but his body was tense and he still looked panicked. I wanted to hug him and calm him down, but now probably wasn't the best time. _

_ "We want to watch you suffer."_

_ My breathing stopped for a few seconds. Hopefully, Dally would get out of this. He had to. He was so smart and strong and adorable..._

_ He couldn't get hurt. He just couldn't. _

_ "And your girlfriend might as well join you." Dally grabbed my hand. _

_ "Leave her out of this," he growled. _

_ "Now, what would you do if we said no?"_

_ He reached for his pocket where he kept his gun, but it was empty. _

_ The figure laughed. _

_ "Run," Dally whispered. _

_ We ran down the path we came. The figure was still laughing. As they started running after us, their faces came out of the shadows. _

_ They had red eyes. The whole eye. They didn't even have pupils. Three of their mouths looked like they were stitched shut. But the fourth one, who looked like the leader I guess, had a large mouth with sharp teeth. Their faces were white with no hair, but they had black hoodies on and the hood was up. They were probably about six feet tall. _

_ We still kept running, but they were gaining on us. They were pretty fast. They weren't quick as lightning, but they still probably would've destroyed any high-schooler in a race. They would've beaten Ponyboy. _

_ Soon, they were right behind us. One grabbed me, and one grabbed Dally. They both had the sewed-up mouths. I struggled, and I noticed Dally struggling, too. But he was a lot stronger than me, and he almost got out until another one grabbed him. He was completely overpowered by the two of them. _

_ "Dally!" I shouted, terrified. _

_ "Silence, girl," the leader ordered. His raspy voice was creepy. _

_ I kept struggling. The...thing holding me tightened its grip, however, so it didn't do anything. _

_ "You'll knock it off if you know what's good for you...and him," the leader warned. I stopped. There was no way I was going to be the cause of Dally getting hurt...or worse. _

_ "Corrin, please try to get away," my boyfriend pleaded. "I'm so sorry!" He looked so worried, so panicked, and so scared that it shattered my heart. The hardened hood exterior was breaking, revealing the scared little boy inside. _

_ "Don't worry," I told him. _

_ "He should be worried," the leader said. He pulled a switchblade from his pocket. That triggered a reaction from me. Naturally._

_ "Please don't hurt him," I cried. _

_ The leader turned back to me, smiling evilly. "He'll be more than hurt when I'm done with him," he laughed. He noticed me struggling again, but I couldn't help it. My heart was racing and I couldn't breathe. I wanted Dally to be okay. I needed him to be okay. _

_ "Calm her down," he said in a monotone to the one who was holding me._

_ "Don't touch her!" Dally shouted. _

_ "You're the reason she's in this predicament." His face went pale. He looked down in shame. _

_ "Dallas, this isn't your fault!" I cried. _

_ "Calm her down," the leader repeated. _

_ And suddenly, my body went limp. I have no idea what happened, but I couldn't move. _

_ "Good."_

_ "Corrin..." Dally whispered. _

_ The leader slapped him in the face. _

_ If I could've moved, I would've hit him. Hard. You don't slap Dallas Winston. The boy winced. He held the switchblade to Dally's throat. I guess I could still cry, just not move. The tears started flowing. But I felt the pressure on me lighten a bit, and I could talk at least then. _

_ "Stop," I said weakly. "Don't hurt him."_

_ "I love you, Corrin, don't forget that," Dally told me with tears in his eyes. _

_ "I love you more," I said through sobs. "I'm sorry!"_

_ I squeezed my eyes shut. When I opened them again, the three figures were walking over to me. _

_ "You're next, my dear," The leader said. _

_ And Dallas Winston was laying behind them in a pool of blood. _

"Corrin!"

I shot into a sitting position, breathing hard. It was really dark, and I was laying in the wet grass. It was still raining outside.

"What? What happened?" I asked. Johnny was sitting in front of me.

"What're ya doin' out here? It's pouring!" I rubbed my eyes and stood up.

"My head hurts," I complained.

"So you decided to go to sleep in the middle of a thunder storm? C'mon, you're soaked." He took my hand and started leading me back to the Curtis house.

"I should go home and get cleaned up," I said, pulling my hand away continuing to walk.

"Nope, Dal made me promise to bring you back to 'im as soon as I found ya."

"Crap, he's gonna be mad at me. Is it obvious that I've been outside?" Johnny laughed.

"Let's see, you've got leaves in your hair, mud all over your clothes and face, and your soaked from head to toe. Nope, you were _definetly _reading a book in bed."

"Funny. Can we just pretendI didn't go home and take a shower first?"

"Nope."

"You're mean." The rain continued to come down harder and the thunder and lightning was still going. "What time is it?"

"About twelve."

"In the morning?!" It was eight when I left the house. "It has _not _been four hours."

"Four hours? Since what?" he asked curiously.

"Since…" and then the memory returned to my head.

"_The point isn't to make you _look_ insane, the point is to _drive _you insane."_

"C, since what?" he asked again. "Were you laying out there for _four hours_?"

"Uh…yeah. But it's fine. How's Dally doin'?"

"Good," he shrugged. "He's real worried, though. Shouldn't keep scarin' 'im like that."

"Boy, he's gonna have a fit," I sighed. I sped up a little bit, and Johnny did the same. "He worries too much sometimes. Like, he doesn't show it at all, but he does, y'know?" He nodded.

"Only cuz he loves ya, though. I hope ya know that, C. He's always talkin' about how he should say it more."

"I know he does," I nodded, too, looking at my feet.

_"Dallas Winston doesn't love you," he spat. "Would he love a girl who caused the death of his idol; the first person to show him love in his life? The first person to make him feel wanted and needed? The first person who cared about him; the only person to care about him in the first decade or so of his life?"_

"Promise?" He must've caught the look in my eye.

"Yeah, Johnnycake."

We got to the Curtis house a minute later, both dripping wet. Our shoes were squishing with every step we took from all the water and mud caked onto them. We stopped at the porch, and I looked through the window. Sodapop and Darry were back at home, and Ponyboy and Emily were still there, too. Olivia sat on the couch in front of Dally, but everyone else was gone.

"We shouldn't go in," he reasoned. "We'll get water and mud everywhere."

"We'll just knock then, tell whoever answers that you found me, and then—you can probably just get cleaned up here," I shrugged. Johnny nodded and knocked on the door. When it opened, it was Sodapop.

"Glory, what happened to you two?" He asked.

"Can you tell Dal that I found C? She's just gonna go get cleaned off at her house.

"You found her?" Dally called from the couch.

"Yeah, Dal, she's alright."

"Lemme see 'er."

"I'm all muddy, Dally, I'll be right back," I said loudly, so he could hear.

"Just go see 'im," Soda whispered. "He's been worryin'."

"I'm gonna get mud everywhere," I protested. Soda waved it off and pushed me through the door. I sighed, waving at Dally and trying to make myself as light as I could so the mud wouldn't get on the floor. Olivia got up from the floor and helped Johnny to the bathroom.

"What the hell happened to you?" he asked.

"Nothing…I just fell asleep outside." He rolled his eyes.

"Go get cleaned up. Can you come back here when you're done though? I have a headache."

"Cuz you drank while you were sick and tired," I smiled at him.

"Please?"

"Yeah, I'll be back," I sighed, struggling to fix my dripping hair. "See ya soon." I turned out of the house and took off towards my house. There was no point, though. I was already wet and muddy. The front door was locked, so I had to run around to the back and climb up the stupid tree. Perfect. I made it up, though, landing in my room and getting mud on the carpet. I ran as quickly as I could to the bathroom.

When I was done taking a shower and cleaning my shoes, I slipped them back on even though they were kinda wet still. I decided to get into my green pajamas since I'd probably stay next door all night. I randomly started thinking about my parents. They haven't been home in a while. I just couldn't see how you wouldn't love your own child. If _I _ever had a kid, I'd love him or her to pieces. I mean, how could you not? I just don't get it.

Shaking it off, I went downstairs and left through the front door, running next door before getting too wet. The rain was still coming down hard. It's been going on since I ended up in the lot. _Four hours ago_. I knocked on the front door before pushing it open. Emily was in Ponyboy's lap in the armchair and Dally was still on the couch, obviously. I was told that Darry and Sodapop went to bed and Olivia was helping Johnny get cleaned up. Dally laughed, and then Ponyboy rolled his eyes.

"Not like that," the fifteen year old scolded.

"Are you sure?"

"Dally, not right now, please," I sighed, plopping down on the floor next to him again.

"I wanna get up," he whined. "I've been laying here for, like, a whole day and I'm uncomfortable.

"I don't know if you can," I said gently, stroking his cheek. "You might start bleeding again."

"No, I won't. C'mon, C, at least lemme sit up or somethin'." I argued with myself in my head for a few minutes. If he sat up, he could get hurt even worse and take longer to recover. But if he didn't sit up, it would be really uncomfortable and he might start getting cramps…I know _I _couldn't lay in one spot like that for too long.

"Fine," I sighed. "But if you get hurt, it's on you."

"Deal." I helped him sit up, leaning him against the arm of the couch.

"He'll be okay," Ponyboy reassured me. "He's gotta sit up some time or another, anyway." I nodded. "Well, we're going to bed now," he announced, gently pushing Emily off of him and standing up with her. "If you need anything, we're just gonna be in my room."

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Dally laughed.

"C'mon, Dal," I sighed. Ponyboy wrapped his arms around Emily, leading her down the hall to his room. Dally took a deep breath when they left and pulled me closer.

"I wanna talk to you," he said quietly.

"Okay," I said slowly. He put an arm around my shoulders.

"Look, kid, I hate talkin' about this crap, so I'm just gonna come out and say it. I'm really worried about you, and I wanna make sure everything's okay." He looked down into his lap, blushing slightly.

"Don't be embarrassed," I laughed a little. "I'm fine, Dally."

"No, Corrin," he shook his head, "I'm, like, _scared_. I'm never scared. So something's wrong…and that thing you pulled the other day wasn't normal." I sighed and grabbed his hand, gently squeezing it to comfort him.

"Don't be scared," I said quietly. "You have nothing to be scared of, okay?" I pecked his lips lightly.

"Man, I feel like a baby," he scowled.

"I love you, Dally," I whispered, giving him a gentle hug. I considered telling him. Telling him everything and just getting it off my shoulders. Mrs. Curtis's words replayed in my head. _"Please try. He deserves to know_."

_"If you breathe _one _word about _anything_ to him," _the voice snarled, _"he'll be dead by tomorrow morning. That's a promise." _

My heartbeat accelerated, and he could tell. Dally rubbed my back and kissed the top of my head, saying that I could tell him when I was ready, but he was always there to talk. He could be really sweet sometimes; you just had to love him.

Johnny and Olivia came out of the bathroom both wet, but Olivia swore it was only because Johnny splashed her with water. I wasn't convinced. But Dally laid back down on the couch and Johnny took the other one. Olivia and I laid down on the floor next to them. My eyes started drooping; it _was _almostone in the morning. I glanced up at Dally, laying facing me, but the moonlight shining on his perfect face. My eye caught something out the window. I moved my gaze slightly upward to see one of the guys from my nightmare.

The glowing red dots for eyes, the white face, black hoodie, and mouth stitched into a bloody smile.

I jumped up in shock, and all three people in the room glanced at me. When I looked back out the window, the figure was gone.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Guys I'm sooooooo sorry that I didn't post this like two days ago when I said I would. I got really busy I'm sorry I give you permission to hate me, seriously. But anyway, here's chapter thirteen! And I know you guys want some fillers, but trust me, they're coming. Soon. In five-ish chapters...hehe. Okay sorry umm...please review and thanks for reading!**_

**This one's gonna be a little shorter...I apologize.**

**Chapter Thirteen**

The next week was surprisingly normal. Dally pretty much healed up. His ankle still hurt, but he refused to "lie around like a pansy," as he put it, so he pretended that it didn't. I still had a nightmare every night, but Counterfeit hadn't shown up in a while—I hadn't even heard his voice since that one night. No creepy monsters or ghosts were around to randomly scare me. But Dally's watch on me was closer than ever. He liked to be with me at night to make sure I didn't get scared, and when he couldn't be there, he'd either call or visit me before bed or in the morning. When we were with the gang or even alone, he didn't take his eyes off me for more than a few minutes at a time. When he got protective, he went all the way.

And this is how he reacted when he didn't even know what was going on. Yeah, he knew something was up. Dally's not dumb. But he didn't know _what _it was, and now I was glad I didn't tell him. He would've gone crazy. I wouldn't have been able to leave his sight.

Thursday night, I was getting ready for bed. I had school the next day and I was already really tired. I looked at myself in the mirror as I brushed my hair. The dark circles under my eyes were getting worse and worse from all the days I went with little or no sleep. Sighing, I dropped the brush back down on the counter and reached for the light switch.

Suddenly, I heard heavy breathing. I dropped my hand back to my side and spun around. I even held my breath for a second, checking to make sure it wasn't just me. It wasn't. I quickly pulled the shower curtain open, but nobody was there. Instead, there was a dripping red message on the bathroom wall.

_Don't sleep. You won't wake up._

I quickly pulled the shower curtain closed again, my heart pounding. I backed up against the bathroom counter for a second, my chest heaving. My thoughts raced. Was that…blood? It looked like it. Running a hand through my hair nervously, I slammed the bathroom window shut, quickly locking it and racing out of the room.

I ran through the whole top floor, shutting and locking every window I came across. The window in my room, the one in Emily's room, and the two in my parents' room. I leaned against the hallway wall, taking deep breaths and trying to calm myself down. Then I remembered downstairs. I took the steps two at a time, wincing at the coldness of the hardwood beneath my bare feet when I got to the bottom. I ran to the kitchen to lock the two windows in there, jumping when I saw more dripping red words.

_You'll never escape me. _

Ignoring the words, I locked them both. Then I thought a second. Would locking the windows and doors keep a _ghost_ out? Probably not. I'm pretty sure Counterfeit doesn't have to walk through doors or crawl through windows to get to me. It made me feel safer either way, so I continued. I ran to the front door, locking both the top and bottom locks, and then locked the big living room window.

_Can you see me, my dear? I can see you._

I spun around, searching for any sign of the ghost. I saw nothing. My heart pounding in my chest and my breathing heavy, and ran to the dining room, slamming that window shut and locking it. Pausing to breathe, I heard a dripping noise. I looked up at the ceiling. It wasn't a leak. I felt something touch my foot. I looked down to see a drop of blood. Where did that come from? Then I noticed my wrist.

_You're mine._

The words were carved into my wrist, fresh blood dripping from the cut. I let out a little scream and ran back to the kitchen, running my wrist under cold water at the sink. The blood stopped, but the words didn't go away. Tears fell from my eyes as I finally felt the pain of the cut burning my skin. I turned the sink off and ran to the hallway, but a new message caught my eye.

_Come outside and play._

It was on the sliding glass door leading to my backyard. I ran to the door quickly, pushing the lock down. It popped back up. I pushed it down again. It popped back up again. I kicked the door, running as far away from it as I could. Just then, the phone rang. I picked it up, putting it to my ear and giving a shaky, "Hello?"

"Can you not read?" the voice said raspily. "Come outside and play with me, Corrin."

"Leave me alone!"

"I promise we'll have a good time."

"Go away!" I slammed the phone back down. It rang a second later. I picked it up.

"I said leave me alone!" My voice was full of frustration. I could hear it crack because of the tears pouring down my cheeks.

"C, baby, what's goin' on?" _Dally. _Crap, crap, crap.

"Oh, hey, Dally!" I exclaimed, trying my best to change my voice to cheerful.

"Corrin. What's goin' on?"

"What? Nothing," I said a little too quickly.

"Don't you dare lie to me. Who were you just talking to? Who's bothering you?" he demanded. I sighed quietly. I wasn't gonna get out of this one easily.

"Dally, chill. It was just one of my friends from school. We were, umm, acting something out for this one class."

"Oh, really?" he asked sarcastically. "What friend?" I racked my brain, trying to think of someone he knew I was friends with, but someone he wouldn't talk to about it. I found one.

"Arika."

"Uh huh. And what class were you acting this out for?"

"Uh…theatre…class."

"Corrin, you don't _take _a theatre class. We don't even _have _a theatre class at school."

"Yeah, I-I meant drama club."

"Why are you lying to me?" I sighed in defeat. If I kept going with this, he'd get mad at me, no doubt about that.

"Dally, it's seriously no big deal. I'm perfectly fine—"

"You don't _sound _perfectly fine. I swear to god, if you don't give me a logical explanation for this right now, I'm coming over there."

"Dally, please don't—"

"Dammit, Corrin. Lock _everything_, understand? I'll be right over."

"Dally—"

"I love you." _Click_. I slammed the phone back down with frustration. It rang _again_.

"Hello?" I sighed.

"Mr. Winston's coming over, is he?" I went to hang up the phone, but he stopped me. "If you hang up on me one more time, I'll give you something to cry about." I wiped my damp face and put the phone back up to my ear.

"What?" I snapped.

"How much do you love Dallas?"

"A lot," I answered flatly.

"Well, tell you what. If you come outside right now, I'll be too occupied playing with _you _when he comes over to even _worry _about him."

"If you do _anything_ to him again, I'll…I'll…"

"You'll what?" he challenged.

"I'll…do…something."

"Sure, dear. But all Dallas's pain can be avoided. We'll just do a trade."

"A trade with what?"

"His pain for _yours_. He'll be perfectly fine. Untouched. Happy and healthy. I can't say the same for _you_, but _Mr. Winston_ will be perfect. Deal?"

"I—deal," I sighed.

"Good girl. Now come out and play with me."

I slammed the phone back down and made my way to the back door. My hands were trembling as I pushed the sliding glass door open and then slid it shut again, stepping out into the cool night. It was deathly silent. Not even the crickets were chirping and the air was cold. I looked around the backyard, squinting to adjust my eyes to the dark.

"Glad you could join me, my dear." His voice was right in my ear. I jumped and he chuckled. "Nice night, isn't it?"

"I guess," I muttered in a monotone.

"Now, that's not the way to be," he shook his head disapprovingly. "You're going to have fun, so we need a smile on that face. My mouth burst with pain. It felt like a needle was going in and out of my mouth…and I realized that's because it _was_. "Much better," he chuckled again. His voice was scaring me and my mouth was stinging. I couldn't open it either. It was stitched into a smile, just like the monsters in the dream. I tried opening it, but it wouldn't work.

"Quick tip, dear. The more you struggle, the more it hurts." He patted my cheek lightly, but even that caused me to let out a scream in the back of my throat. He grabbed a chunk of my hair, right at the roots, and pulled down, causing me to fall on my back in the damp grass. I kicked and struggled, but he pinned my wrists down.

"Shh, dear, you're doing this for Dallas, remember?" I nodded slowly, squeezing my eyes shut tight. Suddenly, his white lips came down on my bloody ones, and I felt my body stiffen. _Not again_, I thought, remembering the last time this happened to me. Suddenly, it felt like I was floating. The firm grip he had on my transparent wrist kept me from reaching back to my body still lying in the grass, eyes wide open, skin pale, and hands pinned to my sides.

My stitched smile seemed to taunt me as I went higher and higher, into the same dark cloud that I was in before.


	14. Chapter 14

**_(This chapter is just bad...I apologize a lot. Yeah so umm...review anyway, I guess, even though it's not good! Yay! Do it for Johnny! And Dally! And everyone else!)_**

**_Oh, one more thing. I'm with my friend Nadine, you know that bad one from The Insiders? She's not actually mean. She's really nice and she's one of my bestest friends and she wants to know what you guys think about her. Feel free to let out your emotion! Please review or comment or whatever what you thought about her. She wants to feel special. Thanks!_**

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Dally's POV**

"I love you." I hung up the phone, taking a deep breath and rubbing my eyes tiredly. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, slipping on my shirt and jacket. It's always somethin' with this kid, isn't it? Dammit, she's got me worried sick, and that's not okay. I'm _never _like this. I've been smokin' more than usual. I fixed the cigarette that was falling out from between my lips before leaving the bedroom. I went down the steps quickly, anxious to check on C. If she was okay, then I'd apologize for overreacting and spend the night with her. If she wasn't okay…I had some asses to kick.

"Buck," I called, seeing the guy leaning against the wall as I came down the stairs. He looked completely drunk.

"What?" he shouted back.

"Can I borrow your car for the night, man? I got some business to take care of." I approached him, holding out my hand for the keys**_._**

****"I dunno, Dal," he hiccupped. "Last time you took my car, ya nearly got me arrested."

"_That _was a complete mistake. I promise that won't happen again. But I really need the car, man. C'mon."

"Why?" I sighed.

"I gotta check on my girlfriend, alright? Is that gonna be a problem?" I threatened. He shook his head quickly. He knew not to mess with me, even though he was a lot older than me. The keys were dropped into my palm and I closed my hand around them in a fist, stuffing them in the pocket of my jeans. I started to head out of the house, but something—_someone_—grabbed onto my arm.

"Hey, baby, how've ya been?" I groaned.

"Sylvia, get the hell off me." I pushed her off, going out the door into the cool air. I thought that would've stopped her, but it didn't. She continued following me.

"C'mon, I thought you'd wanna have a little fun after your big win last weekend," she winked. She was talking about the rodeo that I won first place in that happened Sunday. I shook my head, pushing her off as she clung to my arm again.

"I swear to god, get off of me right now. You know I have a girlfriend."

"Oh, you mean that fucking slut that you haven't even done anything with yet? Everyone knows you're gonna drop kick that girl straight outta your life, and she's gonna be crushed." I debated saying something, or maybe punching her in the face, but I remembered that I still need to check on C and make sure she's alright.

"I don't have time for this," I shook my head. "Call her a slut again, though, I dare ya." I unlocked Buck's car and got into the driver's seat, slamming the door shut.

"Wanna get into the backseat, just like the old days? Huh, Dally?" she winked again.

"Fuck off," I muttered. "I got somewhere I gotta be."

"C'mon, Dal, y'know ya miss it." She just would _not _shut up. She twirled her golden blonde hair flirtingly and I rolled my eyes again. "Has that stupid little kid given you _any _type of pleasure? When was the last time you felt _anything?_" That pissed me off quite a bit. I just spit at her through the car window and drove away. I heard the puddle that the tires ran over splash on her, and as I made a U-turn to get to C's house, I laughed at the expression on her face.

When I pulled in the driveway, I noticed that nearly all the lights were on in the house. I killed the engine and hopped out, noticing that in the Curtis house next door, all the lights were off. Probably because Darry and Sodapop both had work and Ponyboy had school the next day. It was almost two in the morning, anyway. I rubbed my eyes again, trying to wake myself up a little bit. I ran to the front door and tried it. Locked. _Good girl_, I thought. Looking at the house, I could tell that the kitchen and living room lights were on. As far as I could see, nobody was in there. She was probably in her bedroom, if anything. I know I told her to lock everything, but I figured out a way to unlock her bedroom window anyway, so it doesn't matter. I went around the side of the house to the back, getting ready to climb the tree.

I climbed in with ease, and opening the window was only a little bit harder. The lock on that thing is so old that I could just pry it open with my bare hands. I slipped through the window and looked around. She wasn't in her room at all. She wasn't in the bathroom or any of the top floor. She wasn't on the bottom floor, either. Nothing looked out of place. The windows were all shut and locked, like I told her to. All except one.

The sliding glass door leading from the living room to the backyard. My stomach instantly clenched in fear. I shook it off, though. I wasn't afraid of anything. But anything could be out here, since the tree is at the edge of the backyard. I wouldn't have seen it when I climbed up the first time. I slid the door open and shut it as quiet I could. I wished I'd brought a flashlight. I looked around, straining to see in the dark.

Nothing was out of place in the yard, either. I walked further and further. Until I tripped, landing in the damp grass. I cursed under my breath, looking back to see what I tripped on.

It was her.

I squinted harder, crawling closer to her. Her eyes were wide open again, I could tell. The whites of them were all I could see in the dark. I sighed, standing up and stepping over her to turn on the porch light next to the door. The backyard flooded with light and I could clearly make out her figure lying stiff in the grass.

_Shit_.

I ran to her as fast as I could, dropping to my knees in front of her. Her lips were bleeding. But they were sewed shut, like that one guy from one of the horror movies we watched that one night. _What the hell?_ I quickly checked her pulse. Beating normally, just like last time. Her stare was blank like last time, too, staring up at me in a way that could only be considered one thing: _scary_.

"Dammit, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do?" I muttered to myself , running my hand through my hair with frustration. I swallowed hard, struggling to stop the tears from forming in my eyes. I don't cry. Glory, this girl softened me up so much that I can barely recognize myself anymore.

I traced my finger over her lips, shivering when it touched a stitch. Who the hell would've done something like that? That's sick, that's disgusting…I just don't even know what to do. I kissed her forehead.

"Don't worry, baby, I'll get you outta this…somehow," I whispered before standing up and running back to the house. I struggled to pull the sliding glass door open, but it wouldn't budge. Peering through the glass, I realized that was because it was locked. But…it was just _unlocked. _I know I wouldn't have _locked _it. I let out a yell of frustration, slamming my fist into the door. I turned around, thinking of getting help from the Curtis' or something. Sure, they were probably all asleep, but this was an emergency. I needed help; I had no idea what to do in a situation like this. But I swear to god, when we get C fixed up, we're having a _long _talk. And I mean _long_.

"Jesus!" I shouted, jumping backwards into the door.

She was standing up, just staring at me. Not moving, not looking around, and not even blinking. Staring straight at me like she was about to murder me or something. That stupid little fake smile on her face was creepy. I looked back to the door and tugged it again. This time, it opened. When I looked back at her, she was lying down again. Am I going crazy? Maybe this is all a dream…if it is, it's one of the worst dreams I've ever had. And that's saying something.

I ran through the house, running to the first phone I found and dialing the only number I could think of off the top of my head. Johnny's. It rang for about three minutes, and I was about to give up when he answered.

"Hello?"

"Johnny, man, I need serious help."

"Dallas? It's two in the morning," he said groggily. "What's going on?"

"I can't explain right now, but you'll see for yourself when you get here. Ya gotta come to C's house, man, please. I dunno what to do and I need help." My voice sounded really desperate. I sighed inwardly.

"Okay, Dal, just breathe, alright, man? Relax. Can Olivia come too? She's with me."

"Sure, just hurry up, please," I said shakily.

"Okay, man, calm down. We'll be there soon." The phone hung up and I slammed it down, running out to the backyard again. I held her limp hand and just stared at her, tears pouring down my face. I gave up trying to wipe them, since they just kept coming.

"I hate seeing you like this, honey." The voice came from behind me. It was a familiar voice…one that I hadn't heard in a while, and one that I missed hearing. I turned around and nearly fell backwards onto the ground in shock.

"M-M-Mrs. Curtis?" she was glowing. "Okay, now I _know _this is a dream," I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand.

"It's not, baby," she said gently. "I know it's a lot to take in.'

"W-what?" I rubbed my eyes, thinking she'd be gone when I opened them again, but she wasn't. What the hell is going on here?

"I missed you," she smiled warmly, opening her arms for a hug. I hesitantly accepted it, but snuggled right in when she put her arms around me. It felt like home. Just a little colder.

"I missed you, too. A lot." She stroked my hair gently. This couldn't be real.

"You're okay," she whispered into my hair.

"I need help," I sobbed. "C keeps acting weird and I dunno what to do and then _this _happened and I dunno how to fix it or if she's even okay and I'm scared." I miss telling Mrs. Curtis everything. She was like my mom, since mine died when I was young and my dad never cared. Dammit, I sound like a baby now.

"Corrin's having a few problems right now," she sighed. "She wanted to tell you, but she was afraid that you'd freak out. But she'll be alright. She's a tough girl and she's gonna get through this, okay?"

"No, not okay!" I burst out. "She _always _does this to me! Something _always _has to hurt _her_. Why does it always have to be _her_? Why can't it be someone else for a change?" I still feel like I'm going nuts. Mrs. Curtis died a while ago. How the hell could she be sitting here talking to me like nothing ever happened? Is she like, a ghost or something? Maybe I shouldn't have been talking to her when I was so confused, but it's been a while since I had a release, and I really needed one right then.

"She has innocence, sweetheart," she told me, rubbing my back gently. "And when evil spots innocence, their main goal is to _destroy _that innocence until there's nothing left."

"She can't leave me," I rubbed my forehead, getting more and more frustrated.

"And she won't. I promise. Want me to get her back for you? I'll go find her, if you want. Wherever she is." I nodded my head quickly.

"Yes, p-please."

"Alright, baby. But on one condition." I paused a second.

"What condition?"

"Remember all the stuff you used to tell me?" I nodded. "That all has to go to _her_ now," she nodded towards C, who was still lying in the grass, as stiff as a board. "You can't leave all this stuff floating in your head. Because you know what happens when you do that? You _explode_. You might think you can handle it for a while, but eventually, you explode with emotion and end up doing something stupid that could cost you your life. I don't want that to ever happen to you again. You tell her all that stuff that you feel, okay? It can't stay in there. And I know you like to pretend to be Mr. Tough Guy, but even tough guys need to talk."

"I can't bother her with that shit," I sighed. "She's got her own things to worry about. She probably doesn't even care."

"Dallas Winston, you stop with that "nobody loves me" thing. _I _love you. _The gang _loves you. And man, _Corrin _loves you to pieces. She _wants _to hear that stuff."

"How do you know?"

"She told me."

"You talked to her?" My eyes widened. She nodded.

"If you promise me that you'll tell her all that stuff from now on, I'll go get her back for you. If not, I'll let _you_ figure out how to get her back, which is possible, but not easy, trust me."

"I promise," I sighed after a few seconds of hesitation.

"Good. I love you, Dally. And get Corrin to tell you about what's going on with her. She needs to get that off her chest. Anyway, she'll be back soon." She gave me one last hug before smiling at me and disappearing.

I plopped back down in the wet grass, just staring at C, hoping to see movement. After a few minutes, I heard a ringing come from the house. I hopped up and ran inside, thinking maybe it was Johnny calling about something. I picked up the phone quickly.

"Yeah?"

"Forget about her, Dallas. She's not worth it."

"Who the hell is this?" I thought a second about who the voice could've belonged to. It was deep and raspy; not a voice _I've _ever heard, but it could've been someone disguising their voice. I dunno.

"That doesn't matter. Wanna talk to your girlfriend? Who am I kidding, of course you do! She's got something important to tell you. Let me get her, would you?"

"Umm…I…what?" I pushed the blinds open and looked outside. C was still in the grass…how was he gonna get her? She was right there…wasn't she?"

"Hey, Dallas." How come her voice was coming through to me on the phone then?

"Um…C?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Hi, babe, uh, are you okay? I'm kinda scared and really confused and—"

"Dally."

"What?" I asked quickly.

"We're over."


	15. Chapter 15

**_(This has to be one of the worst chapters I've ever written. I know you guys were excited for this one; I'm reallyreally really sorry. I hope you like it anyway...please review! Thank you!) _**

**Chapter Fifteen**

**Dally's POV**

"W-what?" I stammered. "Corrin, no, please, you can't—"

"Bye."

"Can't we talk about—" _Click. _I stood there for a second, replaying that conversation in my head. That could _not _have actually happened. This had to be some sort of nightmare…it had to be. So many weird things happened tonight…the whole thing with C outside, Mrs. Curtis, and now _this_…this wasn't happening. It couldn't be real. I threw the phone across the room, watching as it sailed into the wall and left a dent. My fist slammed into the wall as I sunk down onto the hardwood floor. This time, there was no holding the tears back.

"God, you're a fucking baby," I muttered to myself. "She's just a stupid girl, dammit. You don't gotta fucking cry about it." But I knew in my heart that she wasn't just a stupid girl. She was one of the few that ever made me feel loved. She tried her best to keep me out of trouble. She talked to me about things because she knew that just because I don't talk about my problems, doesn't mean I don't _have _them. She saw good in me when no one else did. She put up with me when I was mean to her. She forgave me for everything I did. She pretty much saved my life. She promised she wouldn't leave me.

"You lied to me, Corrin!" I shouted, crumpling to the ground and sobbing into the floor. "You lied to me and I fucking believed you."

"Dally?" I heard a voice say softly.

"Go away." I heard whispering before whoever it was approached me.

"Dallas." It was Johnny.

"What?" I snapped.

"Olivia's outside with C. What happened to you?" His voice was filled with concern.

"She fucking broke up with me, man."

"What?" he asked incredulously.

"You heard me." He sighed.

"C'mon, come outside. We'll figure this out, Dally. Promise." He half-dragged me up, and I decided that I wouldn't be a baby about this. I didn't care. She broke up with me, big deal. Happens to everyone. I wiped my eyes and followed Johnny outside. Olivia was kneeling next to C, who was still lying flat in the grass.

"Her mouth was, like, sewed shut this time," I whispered shakily.

"Dally, her mouth's fine," Johnny reassured me.

"No, it's not. You just didn't look close enough." We approached her. Just looking at her gave me this sick feeling in my stomach, but I ignored it. Johnny was right, though. Now her lips were pressed shut, but not sewed. They weren't bloody anymore either; there wasn't even a scratch to show for the stitches that were once there.

"They're fine," Johnny pointed to her.

"What is?" Olivia asked.

"Dal says her lips were sewed shut or somethin' like that," he shrugged nonchalantly.

"They were! I saw it!"

"Dally," Olivia said gently, pulling me into the grass next to her, "you just _think _that's what you saw. Breathe, okay?"

"Did she really break up with you?" Johnny asked disbelievingly. I took a sharp breath in, but recovered quickly and nodded.

"No she didn't," Olivia shook her head. "Dally, you're dreaming."

"No, I'm not, Olivia. She fucking broke up with me, okay?"

"How?"

So I went on to tell the whole story. About how when I called her earlier, she screamed at someone to leave her alone and then lied that she was acting for some class she was taking, so I came over. About how when I got there, she was laying like that with her mouth stitched shut, and when I went in to use the phone she was standing up, but when I looked back over, she was in the same position she was before. About how I called Johnny for help and then Mrs. Curtis the ghost came and said she'd bring C back. About how the phone rang again and a weird voice told me that he'd get C, and when she came on the phone she broke up with me and hung up. The two of them stared at me like I was crazy.

"Dally, that makes _no _sense at all," Olivia said flatly.

"I know, I know, something weird's goin' on, and I'm so confused." Another tear slipped from my eye but I wiped it away. Johnny and Olivia glanced at each other.

"How did she call you if she was lying like this in the backyard?" the redhead asked, confused.

"I don't know," I snapped. "But she did somehow. And she doesn't love me anymore." Tears slipped out freely.

"Dally, you can't take that seriously," Olivia patted my back. "It doesn't make sense, okay? We're gonna figure it out, though."

"Wait, Dal," Johnny interjected, "did you say something about Mrs. Curtis?"

"She was here. But she was, like, a…ghost…or something. And she talked to me and stuff and told me C loved me, but I guess she was lying, too." I let out a shuddery sigh.

"I think you were hallucinating a little bit," Johnny said softly.

"I wasn't, Johnny," I said harshly.

"Wait…" Olivia whispered suddenly, her face going pale.

"What?" Johnny asked her, quickly slipping an arm around her waist.

"Dally, remember that day the whole gang was together and Johnny hit me?" The tan boy next to her winced slightly, and I nodded. "C told me that it wasn't actually Johnny that day. She said that there was some ghost or something that could pretend to be all these people because he's trying to drive her insane. I thought she was nuts, but…I don't know. Because right after that was when she got all weird like this," she motioned to the girl's body in front of us, "and she keeps saying that she's seeing people's eyes turn red. Usually, I don't see it, but the last time at the mall with Emily…I did."

"So, what," I asked sarcastically, "you're saying that a ghost is the cause of all this? Y'know how weird that sounds, Liv?"

"I know it sounds weird," she said quickly. "That's why I just thought C wasn't getting enough sleep when she told me about it. But more and more stuff keeps happening that doesn't make sense. It's not logical, but it's pretty much the only explanation that I can think of. Think about it, how else would you have gotten a call from C if she was lying right here the whole time, Dal? _Our _C was right here the whole time. But the ghost that was _pretending _to be C could've called you. It would've had the same voice and everything. "

"This is creepy," I muttered, running a hand through my hair. "But why would this ghost thing care about _me _if his target is _C?_"

"Duh," she rolled her eyes. "You're her _boyfriend_, stupid. You're probably one of her biggest weaknesses, and by messing with _you_, it knows that it's messing with _her_, too. Besides, isn't that always a goal of the bad guy? Take out every person around them until they have no one left to help them?"

"Total isolation," Johnny nodded.

"You realize if anyone heard us right now, we'd probably be thrown in an asylum," I pointed out. "Since when do ghosts exist, guys?"

"Dally," Olivia sighed, "do you have a _better _explanation as to why all this is happening?"

"Well, no, but I mean…c'mon. If we told this to anyone, who the hell'd believe us?"

"Who would we need to believe us?" Johnny asked. "We don't gotta tell anyone."

"What if somethin' seriously bad happens though, man? I just can't shake the feelin', man, I dunno, and I'm kinda scared." Olivia patted my back again.

"It's alright, Dal. We have each other's backs…but I'm still doubting this." I reached out and stroked C's hair lightly, running my hand down her face and shutting her eyes. They stayed closed. I felt myself relax a little bit. Now it was believable that she was just sleeping.

"I feel insane now," I muttered, running a hand through my hair.

"We all believe it, Dal. We all see it," Johnny comforted me.

"Why's everyone always trying to hurt _our _girls?" I complained after a moment of awkward silence.

"Cuz we're the best," Olivia joked. Suddenly, C stirred a little.

"Shit, I'm not ready for her to wake up yet. I don't know if I'm supposed to be mad at her or hug her to death right now," I groaned.

"Be nice, Dally. She probably has no idea what just happened," Johnny nudged me. I sighed heavily. Obviously, I'd rather hug her than yell at her right now. But Jesus Christ, if she hides something this big from me again I'm gonna murder her. She's in for the biggest lecture of her life, so I hope she's not gonna be tired when she comes back.


	16. Chapter 16

**(****_I'm not actually sure how I feel about this chapter...but it's probably one of the more important ones. It's longer, too, I think. Anyway, hope you like it! PLEASE REVIEW!) _**

**Chapter Sixteen**

**C's POV**

I was back in the darkness; the place where it looked like I was floating but I wasn't. I'd been there for a little while now. And the only other thing there with me was Counterfeit, the stupid ghost who couldn't leave me alone for some reason. His eyes glowed as he watched me.

"I don't think you're ever leaving this place now," he informed me.

"Think again," I replied weakly. The stitches had been ripped off of my mouth when I got there, so I could barely move it. It felt like someone lit my lips on fire.

"You'll stay if I _tell _you that you're staying," he growled.

"You're not gonna tell me what to do," I shot back. He pointedly ignored me.

"Did I tell you that your boyfriend was with his ex-girlfriend earlier?"

"Sylvia?" I asked, a hint of confusion in my voice.

"Yes, Sylvia. She's such a pretty young lady. And she can be _very _persuasive when she wants to be. _Especially_ with Mr. Winston."

"What're you talking about?" I mumbled, struggling to ignore the pang of jealousy that I felt. Sylvia _was _pretty. On top of that, she gave Dally what he wanted. Sure, she cheated…a lot. But I decided to ignore it when I remembered something that happened a few months ago.

Dally had his arm around my shoulders, and we were wandering up and down the streets of Tulsa. I was completely bored, and I could tell he was, too, so we went on a walk.

We were joking and laughing the whole time, until we ran into someone. Someone not good. Dally's ex-girlfriend.

Sylvia.

"Dallas Winston!" she exclaimed. Her voice was sickly sweet. "Didn't expect to see you here. And with another whore in your arms. Surprise, surprise." Dally decided to simply ignore the comment and walk right past her. He pulled me tighter to his side, but before we could slip past her, Sylvia grabbed my wrist and pulled me from his grip.

"What do you think you're doing?" Dally spat.

"Aw, relax, babe," she smiled, twirling her blonde hair with her finger. "You're dating this girl? She's like, a kid. And she's not pretty. Or skinny." Dally looked like he was gonna say something, but she cut him off, turning to me. "He can do so much better than you. But he's probably just gonna use you and throw you away, anyway. You're not worth it, ya know?"

"I know," I said quietly.

"Corrin," Dally growled, a warning tone in his voice.

"See? Even she knows it," Sylvia continued. "So why don't we ditch the little girl," she pushed me into the brick building behind us and wrapped her arms around Dally's neck, "and go have some real fun?" He pushed her off of me with so much force that she fell to the sidewalk.

"C'mon, doll," He held his hand out, and I took it hesitantly. We continued walking down the street.

"She's really pretty," I sighed as we walked.

"Not as pretty as you," he whispered in her ear. "Nowhere close." My face lit up with a bright smile and he kissed my cheek. When I turned around for a split second, Sylvia was still sitting on the sidewalk, her jaw dropped.

_But that was a lie_, I thought, coming back to the present. I'm not anywhere near as pretty as Sylvia. I remember the one day I ran into her.

I was walking home from school alone, which, I'll admit, wasn't a smart idea, but nothing happened, so it doesn't matter. Anyways, she looked like a Barbie doll. She was almost perfect. If only she was as pretty on the inside as she was on the out. Her curled eyelashes were really long, and dark with mascara. Her eyeliner brought out her bright blue eyes, which were way prettier than my boring brown ones. And her long golden blonde hair was brushed so it looked shiny and silky. A lot prettier than my stick straight, static-y brown hair. On top of it all, her stomach was perfectly flat. She was wearing the tightest shirt imaginable, and there was not one ounce of fat visible. She was also wearing a really short mini-skirt. Sylvia wasn't a modest girl. But it's not like she had anything to hide.

She was perfect. And Dally used to date her. I was nothing like Sylvia. Sylvia was reckless and wild and dangerous, just like Dally. I was cautious and shy and anxious. Sylvia was good-looking, just like Dally. I'm ugly. Sylvia was skinny and a bad girl, just like Dally was a bad boy. I'm not skinny, and I would definetly consider myself as a good girl. Wouldn't Dally love _her_ more?

"You're thinking, my dear," Counterfeit chuckled, "and you're starting to believe me, aren't you?" I shook my head. "You don't need to deny it. I'm reading you right now. Now you're wondering whether or not he really loves you. And that's not good, you know. Wouldn't you rather have a boyfriend that shows that he loves you all the time?"

"He _does _show me that he loves me," I protested.

"Oh, does he?"

"All the time."

"See, the problem is, dear, I don't believe you. So we're gonna have to do something about this."

"What—" My question was cut off by the fire dancing on my lips again. A yelp erupted from my throat, and he smoothed my hair down. I couldn't open my mouth again.

"Shh. You'll see, dear." A large square of light popped up out of the darkness, illuminating the ghost's pale face with a blue color. Numbers going from one through nine where there, along with a white rectangle and red and green squares. Without him removing his cold hands from my hair, numbers went into the white rectangle. Familiar numbers.

It was my home phone number. I struggled to stand up as the things in the big blue box disappeared. Instead, the white words popped up, saying, "C_onnecting…_". His hand pushed my head back down, forcing me to fall on my knees again. Suddenly, the words changed to a timer counting up.

"Yeah?" My stomach flipped. The voice on the line was Dally's. I attempted to stand up again, but I was pushed back down.

"Forget about her, Dallas. She's not worth it." Counterfeit snarled in front of me.

"Who the hell is this?" His voice sounded mad, but shaky. He was scared, and I couldn't do anything to help him.

"That doesn't matter. Wanna talk to your girlfriend? Who am I kidding, of course you do! She's got something important to tell you. Let me get her, would you?"

"Umm…I…what?" Within a second, I was looking at myself with a dangerous smirk plastered onto my face.

"Hey, Dallas."

"Um…C?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Hi, babe, uh, are you okay? I'm kinda scared and really confused and—"

"Dally." My voice, but smoother than mine, cut him off.

"What?"

"We're over." I jumped up, trying to scream but no sound came out. I went to hit my copy, but her—his—wrist grabbed mine quickly, crushing it. I felt a bone snap and I whimpered.

"W-what? Corrin, no, please, you can't—" he begged.

"Bye." My eyes filled with tears, knowing that Dally doesn't know what's going on and would take this seriously. He'd hate me forever, now. There's so many promises I made to him that Counterfeit just broke. I hated him so much. Counterfeit, not Dally. I loved Dally to pieces. But tears began flowing when I realized that he'd never love me back now.

"Can't we talk about—" _Call Ended. _The stitches came off with a ripping sound and I let out a scream.

"Quiet," my voice snapped. "Wipe away those tears, you baby. He's just a stupid boy."

"He's not stupid," I cried, ignoring the stinging of my lips. "I love him so much and now he's gonna hate me," I sobbed.

"He already does, my dear." My face twisted into Counterfeit's again and brushed his fingers against my cheek. I felt the electric shock go through my body.

"I hate you so much," I continued to cry. "So, so, _so _much."

"I'm aware," he chuckled. "But you realize this is what I _want_ from you, right, Corrin?"

"W-what?" I asked shakily.

"God, you're even dumber than you look," he scoffed. "Remember when I put Dally out for a little while a few days ago and I told you that people lie?"

"Y-yes."

"_I_ lied." He stroked my hair almost gently.

"About what?" I demanded, my voice shaking. I wiped my eyes, but instantly my left wrist hurt, so I held it with my other hand.

"I'm not a ghost."

"What?" My thoughts raced. If he wasn't a ghost, then what the hell was he? He couldn't be an alien…right? Mrs. Curtis knew about him, and _she _was a ghost. Counterfeit laughed. He was probably reading all the stuff going through my head. He lifted my chin with his cold finger, and I jumped again as the electric shock coursed through my body.

"Have you ever heard of a demon, my dear?"

"I-I, uh, yeah," I stuttered. I felt my throat get dry.

"_That's _what I am. A demon that needs more souls in hell. And I'd be _glad _to drop yours off there as soon as I'm through with you."

"Get away from me," I choked out, hiding my face in my knees.

"Y'know what your main weakness is when you're dealing with a demon, Corrin? Fear."

"I don't have any fear."

"Funny when you can't even look at me without getting scared. Demons feed off fear. Ask anyone. The more terrified we make you, the more powerful we are. And trust me, I'm feeling pretty powerful right now."

"Just go away," I whispered, curling into a ball at his feet. "Please go away."

"No."

"Why're you doing this to me?" I screamed. My voice echoed in the blackness. He roughly tugged my head up to look into his eyes again.

"I'm doing this to you because I _want _to. It's _fun_. It brings me happiness to see you in pain, and you deserve it. Do you understand?"

"Why me?" I whispered, unable to stop the tears from spilling over. He chuckled and began to twirl a piece of my hair, but I slapped his hand away.

"I told you why. It's your fault. You don't deserve to be alive, so why should I allow you to be?"

"You're gonna k-kill me?"

"I don't _need _to. With me around, you'll probably end up killing _yourself_."

"I wouldn't do that."

"That's what _everyone _says, dear. But every one of my victims have ended up committing suicide."

"_I _won't."

"You will."

"And what if I don't?"

"I'm positive you will, Corrin. And if I'm wrong—which I'm not—I'll kill you myself. Nobody escapes me. Ever. If you're being haunted by me, you can kiss your life goodbye."

"I hate you."

"Trust me, I know. Let's talk about something else."

"Just let me go," I pleaded. "You already screwed up my life enough."

"Good."

"I hate you," I repeated.

"Let's talk about _Luke Brown._"

"No," I sighed. I'd already spent quite a few sleepless nights thinking about my ex-boyfriend that I caused the death of.

"Were you aware of his family life?" He crouched down in front of me again.

"No," I replied in a monotone.

"Well, let me fill you in. His parents were terrible to him. Ever since he turned three years old, they beat him nearly to death, worse than your little friend Johnny. You know why? He wasn't wanted. His mother, Sarah, was perfectly happy in her early twenties with her husband and only child, Susannah. But Sarah was raped one night, and then Luke came. The whole family hated him, but kept him to take their anger out on. Sarah's husband, infuriated with the fact that he couldn't protect his wife, hit him with anything and everything. His mother did the same, screaming at him every day and even throwing _chairs_ at the poor little boy. Susannah, who was older than him by six years, simply laughed and joined in with her parents."

"I—" There were tears in my eyes, but the story wasn't over.

"And then he found _you_, the only person that _ever _showed him love in his life, much like Dallas. But Luke knew you hung around all those boys and got terrified that you wouldn't love him anymore. He thought hurting you would force you—_scare _you—into staying. So that's what he did. All he ever wanted was love, and because of you, now he's _dead_."

"I—I didn't—"

"Yeah, yeah, you didn't know, you didn't mean to. The point is, you _did_. It's _your _fault."

"I—" Tears continued to stream down my cheeks.

"_You_ sent him to _hell_. _You _destroyed him like the little bitch you always were and still are. And now, you're paying the price."

"That's enough."

It wasn't me. It wasn't him, either.

"M-M-Mrs. Curtis!" I stammered, jumping to my feet. Pushing away from the demon in front of me, I ran over to her and enveloped her in a hug. She hugged me back, stroking my hair.

"It's okay, honey. Don't listen to him. It's not your fault," she whispered.

"I'm not done with her," Counterfeit said, annoyance in his voice.

"I'm gonna take you back to Dally, okay, baby?" she ignored him.

"He's gonna hate me," I cried.

"Don't cry," she whispered again. "That's what he wants. Don't give him what he wants."

"Unfortunately, Karen," Counterfeit interjected, "you know I can't read _your _mind, but I _can _read _hers._ So watch what you say to her."

"You have no right to be doing this," Mrs. Curtis said, strength in her voice.

"We've had this conversation before. And if you keep interfering, I just might throw _your _ soul in hell to burn with the little one there."

"Demons can't touch angels, remember?"

"Well, I can't touch _you_. But I can touch _her_." His voice lowered dangerously.

"C'mon, honey. Dally's waiting." She gently pulled me along with her.

"I'm still not done with you," he glared at us. Suddenly, there was a flash of light that looked like a portal.

"Go." She gently pushed me towards it.

"Thank you," I whispered, trying to stop the tears.

"Don't thank me. I love you, sweetie. Now go." I took one last glance at the demon with his eyes glowing bright red, took a deep breath, and stepped into the light. My head spun faster and faster and faster, making me feel dizzy and nauseous. And just like the last time I left this weird place, a shocking bolt of electricity shot through my body.

I shot into a sitting position, rubbing my eyes and looking around. Before my eyes could even fully focus, someone's arms wrapped tight around me, using a level of protectiveness that could only belong to Dally. I hugged back, instantly feeling safe as I buried my face in his shoulder. Nothing hurt anymore, which surprised me. Not even my wrist.

"You're in _so_ much fucking trouble," he growled in my ear, squeezing me tighter. I didn't respond, I simply squeezed him tighter too, and rubbed his back gently, hoping to calm him down a little bit.

"Calm down, Dallas," Another voice said gently from beside us. Johnny.

"Yeah, Dal, you're gonna crush her." Olivia. He let go of me and exhaled.

"Deep breaths," I reminded him gently. He glared at me, but did as he was told.

"What the hell was that, C?" The redhead next to me demanded. I shrugged. What was I supposed to tell them? Olivia didn't believe me the first time, anyway. "Look," she continued, "we know about…this. This whole ghost thing. And although it sounds crazy, we believe you now. So what happened?"

"He's not a ghost," I answered briefly. "He's a demon." Dally stared at me blankly. "Yeah, don't believe me if you don't want to, but it's the truth. He's trying to send me to hell because he says everything's my fault and I don't deserve to live." My voice stayed calm.

"That's not true, C," Johnny argued. I shrugged.

"She can tell you the story later," my boyfriend spoke up. "C'mon, C. You're comin' with me." I sighed.

"Lemme say bye to Olivia and Johnny, then."

"Hurry." He started to walk away. I turned to the couple that was next to us.

"You're in some deep shit with 'im," Olivia warned. I bit my lip nervously.

"I'm sorry, guys. You should go back home, though. It's probably late, and we have school tomorrow."

"It's three in the morning," Johnny laughed.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry," I sighed.

"Yeah, well we're not done with you," Olivia replied. "You're giving us the full story tomorrow in lunch."

"I wanna hear," Johnny protested. He was a grade above us, so he wasn't in our lunch period.

"Fine. Then after school," she corrected. He nodded in agreement.

"Sure, whatever."

"Just be patient with 'im," Johnny advised. "Y'know he gets mad when he's really worried. I hope you guys can end it well."

"I've dealt with Dally mad before," I waved it off. "I'll be fine. I hope."

"You didn't really break up with him, did ya?" Olivia asked. I swallowed hard and shook my head.

"That was…_him._" The two nodded.

"Alright, C, well see ya later. Good luck."

"I'm gonna need it," I sighed, walking back over to where Dally was leaning against the tree, smoking a cigarette.

"Ready?" He asked flatly. I nodded and followed him to the front of the house where his car was parked in the driveway. I watched as Olivia and Johnny got into Mr. Cade's beat up truck, and I prayed that Johnny wouldn't get caught using it.

"Oh my god, Corrin, you're in _so _much trouble, you don't even know, "he told me when I plopped into the passenger seat and shut the door.

"Just cut the lecture short tonight, alright? I got school tomorrow." I yawned and rested my head against the car window.

"You're not _going _to school tomorrow." I caught a glimpse of his dangerous smile in the light of the moon and decided against arguing with him as we pulled away from my house and sped down the street. Olivia was right: I was in some deep shit.


	17. Chapter 17

_**(I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter, but I hope you guys like it! And just to be clear, it's C's POV unless it says otherwise. So if it says nothing, like it does now, that means it's C's POv. Thanks!) **_

**Chapter Seventeen**

We pulled up at the curb in front of Buck Merrill's house. The first floor's lights were still on, and the booming music could be heard even from the front yard. I was staring out the front windshield when Dally got out of the car, lost in my thoughts. What if he was really mad? What if he didn't love me anymore? What if he hated me now? I only half noticed when he pulled open the car door on my side, and the cool night air blew my hair backwards.

"Out," he commanded simply. I heard him, but the command didn't process. "Out, Corrin. C'mon." My gaze stayed fixed out the windshield. He exhaled heavily before lifting me up and throwing me over his shoulder, slamming the car door before heading up the driveway. I didn't know how he was carrying me. I was heavy.

He kept walking, through the door and past all the people at Buck's party who were drunk or falling asleep. I closed my eyes and struggled to stay awake. I counted the number of stairs as I went up. Nine. Weird, usually when I counted there was thirteen. But I was half asleep, so maybe I missed some. When we got in front of his room, he pushed the door open and dropped me onto the bed before slamming the door shut again.

"I cannot _believe _you," he said loudly.

"Dally, I'm tired—"

"I don't give a shit. I can't _believe _you wouldn't tell me something like that, Corrin."

"I just didn't want you to worry."

"Didn't want me to worry?" He was yelling now. "I'm _terrified_, okay? _Terrified_. How the hell am I supposed to protect you from something like this?"

"Dally, you need to breathe."

"Don't tell me what to do. I'm _so _mad at you."

"Dallas—"

"You can't _do _stuff like that! That's like hiding when that stupid little shit was abusing you daily and you didn't tell anyone!" He must've caught the look in my eye, because then he said, "I hope you're not _still _feeling guilty about that asshole because he deserved to die. You don't touch a woman like that, _especially _a little girl like you. And even _I _know that."

"I'm not a little girl," I protested. "Dally, I'm two years younger than you. I can take care of myself. I'm not stupid."

"I didn't _say_ you were stupid!" He threw his arms up in frustration. "I _never _said you were stupid! You just don't think, sometimes, Corrin, and that can cost you your life one day if you're not careful! Can't you understand that? Even with me watching you and checking up on you, something like this _still _happens! You're never safe!"

"Dally, of _course _I understand that."

"Dammit, no you don't! You're like a fucking trouble magnet!"

"Well, I'm sorry! Nobody said you had to watch me like a hawk to make sure I'm not hurt every second of the day."

"I obviously don't have to, but I honestly think you'd be long gone if I didn't! What would've happened with that little shit if I hadn't been there, huh? You still would've been getting abused by the guy because you're too nice to stick up for yourself!"

"I stick up for myself all the time," I shot back. "You're just never there to see it."

"Oh really? Name one time," he challenged.

"That time when I was walking home with Emily and I nearly got jumped. Sure, you got us out of it, but I could've done it if I needed to."

"You could've punched a few guys to unconsciousness? I don't think so, kid. See what I mean? You're so fragile; you get hurt so easily. And don't get me wrong, I love that. I love feeling like I have something to protect, but you can't overestimate yourself."

"You overestimate yourself all the time, I replied. "You underestimate yourself a lot, too, but who always has to convince you to not go fight with the Shepards? You _know _that you don't always win, but you get cocky and go for it, and then you end up getting hurt."

"We're not talking about me," he rubbed his forehead with frustration.

"_I'm _talking about you. Because you do _worse _than what I do."

"Corrin, fighting people is way easier than fighting a fucking _demon_."

"Look, I care about your well-being just as much as you care about mine. I probably care _more_, actually." He started to interject, but I cut him off. "When I know something's gonna get you hurt like this, I'm not gonna tell you about it. Because, you're right, fighting people is easier than fighting a demon. And you'd get _destroyed_. Trust me."

"I'm strong, you know that. I can beat 'im to death."

"First, technically, he's kinda already dead."

"Shut up."

"Second, there you go with your cocky thing again. He'd kill you, Dally, just like he'd kill anyone else who tried to stand in his way. He told me that nobody escapes him. Every one of his targets had ended up committing suicide, which of course means he wins."

"Don't you dare," he growled.

"Oh, be quiet. You know I wouldn't. But even if I don't, he'll end up killing me himself…there's no way out. I'm dead either way."

"There's _no _way I'm letting you die, so don't say that. And maybe if you told me _earlier_, we could've stopped this before it even happened!"

"I was going to, okay? Mrs. Curtis even told me to tell you because you deserved to know. And yeah, you _do _deserve to know. But when I was gonna tell you, _he _came along and told me if I said anything…you'd be dead by the next morning."

"You can't be worried about shit like that when your life is on the line, kid!"

"What shit? _Your _life?"

"Yeah, _my_ life. That's never something to worry about!"

"Why not?"

"Because nobody would give a flyin' fuck if I died! We're all working to protect everyone _else_, and that includes _you._"

"Why do you think that, Dally? Why do you _always _think that nobody loves you?"

"Because nobody does! Why would they? I'm a fucking hood, Corrin."

"Everyone does! You just don't see it because you're so convinced that nobody cares about you!

"My own parents didn't, so why should anyone else?" he muttered. I hesitated for a second.

"I _knew _you cared."

"I don't. I don't care at all. _I_ don't love _them_, either." I could tell by his voice that he was lying. There was hurt deep in his eyes.

"_I _love you."

"Yeah, I know you do. And I have no idea why. The point is, if you're in danger, I'd risk my life to make sure that _you _end up okay. I'd _die _for you without thinking twice."

"I'd do the exact same thing for you."

"I wouldn't let you. Your life isn't gonna end because of something stupid that _I_ did."

"You wouldn't have a choice. It'd be too late by the time you even noticed I was gonna."

"Shut up. Don't you _ever _think of doing that."

"If I can't, then neither can you." He ignored me.

"Don't you trust me? You can't trust me enough to tell you when someone's _hurting _you like this?"

"Dally, what would you have done?" I interjected calmly. "He's a _demon_. It's not like you can beat him up. You'd just flip out like you are right now."

"Corrin, I—"

"He already hurt you once, Dallas," I whispered. "I can't let that happen again."

"When did he hurt me?" he asked, leaning against the bedroom door.

"That one night. That wasn't some stupid Socs; that was _him_. _He _did that and I couldn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry and get all overprotective."

"Hey," he pointed at me, "I get overprotective because I love you." He let out a shaky sigh and his face softened. "I love you, okay?" He kicked the door and sunk to the ground. I got off of the bed and sat in front of him on the ground, gently stroking his hair. He pushed me away.

"Dally, listen, baby," I said soothingly, lifting his face from his knees and wiping the tears that streamed down his cheeks. Most people thought that Dally was beyond crying. Usually, he proved that. But around me, he did a better job of letting his emotions out.

"No."

"I love you, too," I continued anyway. "Yes, I should've told you. And I'm sorry that I didn't. I just…was worried that you'd think I was crazy or something and not love me anymore. And if that didn't happen, you'd get hurt, and I couldn't live with myself if you got seriously hurt or even killed because of me."

"It wasn't you that broke up with me earlier, was it?" His voice cracked.

"No," I shook my head. "That was him. Because he can imitate people and make it look like they're doing all this stuff that gets them in trouble. He's trying to make everyone hate me, especially you. Because when you don't love me anymore…I've got nobody that would care enough to help me or believe me." There were tears in my eyes now.

"C'mere," he whispered, opening his arms. I hugged him tightly and he pulled me into his lap. He let out a shuddery sigh and buried his face in my hair.

"It's okay," I comforted him softly. "Everything'll be okay."

"I should be the one comforting you," he cracked a watery smile. I gave him one back and wiped his eyes gently.

"I love you," I reminded him.

"I love you too." He pulled me even tighter into his chest, rocking me back and forth slightly and stroking my hair. His heart was still pounding.

"Relax." I kissed his cheek.

"I can't," he mumbled. "I'm scared."

"Don't be scared. I'll figure out a way to get outta this."

"_I'll _get you outta this. I'm sorry for yelling at you. I'm just worried."

"I know, baby. It's fine, I understand."

"T-thank you."

I pressed my lips to his softly, and he followed my lead. It was the softest he's ever went, slowly and carefully raking his fingers through my hair. I tightened my arms around his neck and his arms circled around my waist and pulled me even closer. Then, without a warning, he pushed me off of his lap and pinned me to the floor, my hands on either sides of my head. I pulled his face back to mine and he straddled me, continuing the kiss with less gentleness. He got rougher and rougher, biting and running his tongue over my bottom lip. I struggled to keep up with him, tangling my fingers into his soft hair. His hands roamed my body, causing me to shiver. I felt his lips form into a smirk against mine. When I felt his warm hands slip up my pajama shirt that I was still wearing, I gasped involuntarily, allowing him to slip his tongue into my mouth and explore every part. I let out a little whimper as his fingers came in contact with the fabric of my bra. I attempted to sit up and push him off me, but he held me down.

"You can't stop me here," he whined against my lips. "That's not fair."

"Dally, you know I can't."

"Why not?"

"I—I just can't. I'm sorry."

"Why? Don't you love me?"

"Of _course _I love you. But—"

"I know you want it. But you're never gonna_ ask_ for it. So I'm just gonna have to _give_ it to you."

"Dallas, please, not tonight. Please?"

"You're so stubborn," he complained, but he got off of me and stood up, holding out a hand and helping me to my feet.

"Thank you," I whispered, giving him another tight hug. He kissed my head.

"Kay, c'mon. It's really late now and we've got stuff to do tomorrow."

"Yeah, I have to go to school."

"I told you you're not _going _to school. We're gonna have a fun day to help us both relax and forget about everything for a while."

"You're gonna break my perfect attendance record," I sighed. He shrugged.

"Oh well. My little smarty-pants needs some time off anyway." He kissed my head again and I giggled in response. He pulled me into his bed and wrapped his arms around me. I snuggled into his chest. The familiar warmth was welcoming. The bright red numbers on the alarm clock informed me that it was four fifteen in the morning. I sighed tiredly as Dally pulled me tighter into his side and turned out the bedside lamp.

"I love you," I whispered.

"I love you too," was the last thing I heard before drifting off into a sound sleep.

It was the first night without a nightmare in a long time.


	18. Chapter 18

**_(_****_Okay this chapter just isn't good, but I wrote most of it at like midnight and I can barely keep my eyes open, so I'm really sorry. I'm really really really sorry. ANyway, here's the Ponily I promised! And sorry if I worried anyone by not updating in a while, but I have an excuse. See, my sister is really annoying me. So I told her I'm not writing this chapter until she does what I told her to do, so this chapter wasn't written yet. I skipped it and finished nineteen and twenty. But I can't do that on here, so I ended up just writing it and she didnt do what I told her to so I'm mad. But anyway, here's eighteen! Hope you like it, please review!)_**

**Chapter Eighteen**

** Emily's POV**

"Did you ever do this last year, Pony?" I asked, staring down at my textbook with frustration.

"What is it?" he asked absentmindedly, scribbling down answers on his paper.

"Uh…combining like terms or something like that."

"Yeah, I did that. Hold on a sec, will ya?" I nodded and waited until he put his pencil down. Ponyboy and I decided to have a study date, since we had some tests coming up. They were bigger than normal tests; they were for the state or something like that. We decided to help each other out, since Pony was better at math and English, while I was better at science and history. He was a grade level above me, though, so he did harder things than I did.

"Oh, that's easy," he assured me when he looked at it. He pointed down at the first problem on the page.

6x +21 +1x -16=180

"Maybe it's easy to a super genius like you," I scoffed.

"You're the genius, M & M." He kissed my cheek.

"Just show me how to do this," I giggled.

"Fine, fine. You have to combine the two numbers with the variable, and then combine the two without it."

"I have to what the what?" I asked. He sighed.

"D'ya know what the variable is?"

"Umm…x?"

"Good. So put the two with the x's together." I thought for a second before lowering my pencil to the paper and scribbling something down.

7x

That looked right…right? Because six plus one is seven, and add an x…I think. I looked at Pony for approval, and he nodded.

"Right! Now combine the twenty-one and the negative sixteen." I hesitated, but finally wrote +5 on my paper next to the 7x.

7x +5 = 180

"Umm…now what?"

"Isolate the variable," he instructed. I knew this one. I subtracted five from both sides, leaving 7x=175.

"Now I divide by seven, right?" He nodded again, so I divided the 7x by seven, leaving x, and divided 175 by seven, leaving x=25.

"That's right!" he said brightly, pecking my lips. He was about to pull away, but I took his face in my hands and kissed him a little more passionately. He went along with it at first, raking his fingers through my hair.

"I love you," I whispered against his lips.

"Love ya too, Em, but we're supposed to be studyin'," he laughed.

"Can't we do that later?"

"Guys! C'mon out for dinner!" Darry called from the kitchen. The house smelled good. Even through Pony's bedroom door, I could smell the chicken, mashed potatoes, and soup.

"Guess we gotta wait to do both of those things," he smirked back, and I slapped him playfully as we left the bedroom and entered the kitchen. Sodapop was already sitting in his seat, his feet propped up on the table and flipping through a car magazine.

"Darry, I want this one!" He turned the magazine around to show his older brother, who was walking to the table with plates of food, a shiny red sports car with a white stripe.

"In your dreams, little buddy," he teased. "Now feet off the table, we're eating now." The seventeen year old sighed heavily and moved his feet to the floor, throwing the magazine aside. A plate of food was set in front of each of us.

"I could save up for that car," he pointed at it. I looked at the price on it and cringed.

"Maybe if you keep savin' til you're thirty-five," Ponyboy joked.

"Probably a little more than that," I added.

"Eh, who knows? Maybe I'll catch a big break and get famous!" he exclaimed happily.

"You?" Darry teased, sitting down next to him. "How do you expect to get famous?"

"Well, I have been told I have incredibly good looks," he said thoughtfully, stroking an imaginary beard. "I could be an actor. Or a model!"

"A model?" Pony scoffed, taking a spoonful of soup.

"Yes, Ponyboy. A model," he confirmed smugly.

"Alright, kiddo, well let's focus on your career for now. You should work on getting a job other than the gas station."

"What d'ya mean, Darry? I get plenty'a money working at the DX!" As they continued going on about money and jobs, Ponyboy turned to me, shoveling a forkful of mashed potatoes in his mouth.

"Sorry 'bout them," he said. I laughed a little.

"It's fine. They're cool." I cut a piece of chicken and stuck it in my mouth, chewing slowly and watching Ponyboy do the same out of the corner of my eye.

"Well, I'm gonna go find Steve," Sodapop announced, standing up from the table. I looked down at his plate that was completely clear, and back to mine that was nearly full. Man, these guys ate fast.

"I'm takin' Helena out for ice cream," Darry added, standing up and piling his plate on top of Soda's before carrying them both to the kitchen. "Behave yourself, guys. Don't do anything dumb." His warning was aimed at us, and we both blushed and stared down at our plates. He chuckled and ruffled Pony's hair before going back into the kitchen.

"Seriously, sorry 'bout that," he blushed, the tips of his ears turning red.

"C'mon, Pony, it's fine. They're funny," I reassured him, hoping that if I told myself to stop blushing, the red tint in my cheeks would disappear. I don't think it worked; I could tell by the way my boyfriend's lips stretched into a grin.

"Yeah, guys, what he said," Soda teased, his hand on the doorknob. "We don't need no teen moms in the gang, y'hear?"

"Soda!" Pony and I cried simultaneously.

"Alright, that's enough, Pepsi-Cola," Darry scolded. "Get goin'."

"Hey, it's true," he defended himself before slamming the front door behind him. I knew he did that just to make his younger brother mad. Ponyboy hated that. He rolled his eyes and went back to his soup.

"Thanks for makin' dinner, Darry," I said brightly as he headed out the door. "It was really good."

"No problem, kiddo. You kids have fun now."

"But not too much!" A voice came from outside. Sodapop was standing at the window, which was open.

"Get outta 'ere, Soda!" Ponyboy stood up from the table, running to the window, but he took off before he could touch him. Darry rolled his eyes, picked up his jacket, and headed out the door.

"Well...guess it's just us now," Ponyboy joked, winking.

"Did you not just hear your brothers?" I giggled. "Behave yourself."

"I'm kiddin', I'm kiddin'." He slug his arm around my shoulders. "Y'look real pretty though, M&M."

"You look very handsome yourself." I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him lightly, but he pushed me away.

"Eat first. We still have to finish studying." I sighed over-dramatically but continued eating quickly, since Ponyboy was already done.

"I can't eat anymore," I said after a few minutes. "I'm gonna get a stomach ache."

"Okay...wanna finish your homework then?"

"Do we have to? Homework's boring."

"I guess not. We can...watch a movie or somethin'."

"That sounds more fun."

"Good. We should go to the store and rent one though...we've seen all the ones here already." He piled my plate on top of his and rinsed them both off, setting them in the sink.

"Sure!" I reached for his hand and he took mine, squeezing it gently. I grabbed my jean jacket from the arm of the couch and pulled it on, handing him his hoodie.

"C'mon. We just gotta be really careful. If a Soc or somethin' catches us, Darry'll beat my head in."

"He will not," I reassured him. "We'll be fine. We'll just go quickly."

"'Kay." He pecked my cheek again and held my hand. I shut the door quietly behind us and we went down the driveway.

The street was starting to get dark, since it was almost nighttime. I listened to the steady slapping of our shoes against the sidewalk.

"Hey Ponyboy?" I asked suddenly.

"Yeah?"

"D'ya ever get the feelin'...that, like, someone's...watching ya, or something?" Ponyboy's eyes widened a little, but he nodded slowly.

"It happens to everyone, I guess," he shrugged.

"But this honestly feels so real," I protested hesitantly. "And my sister's been acting so weird lately...I can't help thinkin' that something's up."

"I talked to her a little," he admitted quietly. "She's actin' like she used to back when she used to date that Luke guy; all paranoid and jumpy."

"You don't think-" I started, but he cut me off.

"Dally's abusing her? That's what I thought at first...I asked her about it too. But she swore he wasn't. And now that I think about it, he's probably not. Cuz yeah, she acts the same way she did, but when C's around Dally, it's way different than it was when she was around Luke. When she around Luke, she acted the same as always. She was paranoid and jumpy. But around Dally, she's different. She looks comfortable and...y'know...safe."

"I know what ya mean. But...I dunno, it's kinda creepin' me out now. What if somethin's going on with her that'll hurt the whole gang again?"

"Eh, C's kinda a trouble magnet. I'm not sure why, honestly. She's never done anything wrong. But stuff always happens to her. Just don't get involved," he warned. "That'll get ya into some trouble." I nodded.

"Well, it'll be..." I trailed off as I felt a chill run down my spine. I literally felt like I couldn't move for a second. I stopped dead in my tracks in the middle of the sidewalk.

"_Forget about her, Emily...she's not worth it."_

I was suddenly able to move again. I felt like three hundred pounds was lifted off my shoulders and I could breathe again. I spun around wildly, searching for the source of the voice. Nobody was on the street but Ponyboy and me.

"Emily!" his voice broke into my thoughts. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"Uh...yeah. That was weird." Ponyboy asked me what happened again, but I just grabbed his hand and kept walking.

We turned down a few corners until we got to one of the small stores that sold movies. I immediately walked to the back where they kept all the movies on big racks.

"Seriously, M&M, are you okay?" Pony asked me when I came to a stop in front of the racks, cupping my face in his hands.

"Yeah, Pony, chill. I'm fine," I reassured him, taking his hand back in mine. "I just remembered something, that's all. Now c'mon, pick a movie!"

"Alright, but if you need anything, I'm right here." He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into his side tightly. "You pick somethin', I'm fine with anything."

"Nah, seriously, you pick." I kissed his nose. "Just no horror movies, please."

"Sure, sweetheart. Wanna watch a romance movie or somethin'?"

"Anything but horror," I repeated. He nodded and continued to search the rack. I glanced around the store, expecting to see some guy in a trench coat with sunglasses watching us or something, but nothing was there.

"Emily," he nudged me in the ribs.

"What?" I replied quickly.

"Is this one okay?" He showed me a movie with three girls on the cover in plaid skirts and neatly curled hair. It looked like a drama movie. No blood or knives or ghosts or anything like that, so it was good.

"Perfect," I gave him a smile and he pulled a few crumpled bills from the pocket of his jeans.

"I'll pay for it," I offered, reaching down into my pocket instead. Pony stopped me, giving me a look saying, you're nuts.

"I can do it."

"Ya sure? I don't want you to-"

"I'm sure, Em." I pulled my hand out of my pocket and let Ponyboy use his money instead. We went up to the counter and paid, leaving the store hand in hand.

The sky was dark when we left the place, and the stars were out. There were a few dim streetlamps lining the street, but other than that, the whole block was dark. Ponyboy was looking around nervously.

"You okay?" I asked, nudging him lightly in the ribs.

"Just kinda worried about the Socs," he admitted. "It's a weekend, it's nighttime, and it's really dark out."

"It'll be okay, Ponyboy," I squeezed his hand gently. "Let's just go back quickly." He nodded, and let go of my hand, slipping his arm around my waist instead. We walked in silence, but we kept up our pace, hoping not to get caught.

Of course, our hopes did absolutely nothing to keep us safe.

A little red Porsche sped down the street at top speed with its high-beams on. It swerved wildly, crossing over to the wrong side of the road a few times and nearly hitting a few of the streetlights. Ponyboy's arm instantly tightened around my waist and I patted his back. The car spun around in a sloppy U-turn, heading straight towards us. Pony's lips quickly went to my ear.

"Run. Now," he commanded firmly. I gulped and nodded, taking off down the street. I heard Ponyboy behind me, his sneakered feet clapping against the sidewalk just like mine were. I kept running, and I could tell that the Porsche was a little taken aback, because it paused for a second before quickly pulling another U-turn. Crap. I managed to stay ahead of Ponyboy, but I think he was probably slowing down on purpose so if they ended up catching us, they'd get him first. Very chivalrous, but I'd rather have them grab him than me.

The car screeched to a stop about a building behind us, and I had to admit I panicked a little. Fear bubbled up inside me, causing me to slow down a little bit, but Ponyboy continued on, faster than before, grabbing my wrist and pulling me along with him.

"Hey, greaseballs," one of the three Socs shouted at us. They were clearly drunk, swaying on their feet and hiccupping every few seconds.

"Keep going," Ponyboy urged, tugging my hand to speed me up. I got the message, but so did the Socs. They started chasing us, wobbling and stumbling every few seconds, but they were pretty fast. They caught up to us quickly, but part of that was probably because they had a car that drove them most of the way. Ponyboy was running faster than I thought imaginable, and I instantly knew that I was getting tired already and couldn't keep up.

"Ponyboy," I whisper-shouted. He looked over at me, not breaking his pace. "We can lose 'em around the back of the building." I nodded my head in the direction of the building next to us and he nodded back in response.

"Aw, c'mon, greasers, we just wanna play!" they continued to tease. "Don't take your anger out on us, it's not _our _fault you guys are poor and can only afford hair grease!" The guy's buddies thought that was the most hysterical thing they'd ever heard, judging by how hard they laughed. I was surprised they kept up their pace.

Suddenly, Ponyboy grabbed my hand and pulled me to the left. We slid in between the two buildings, climbing through the bushes that covered the narrow walkway. The Socs were right behind us, apparently not taken off guard at all by our sudden change of direction. Pony and I continued to run between the two buildings until we reached a problem.

A tall wire fence.

"Crap," Pony muttered, looking in every direction to try to find a way out of the mess. There was none. To our left and right were brick buildings, in front of us was he fence, and behind us were the Socs.

"What do we do now?" I asked, starting to panic a little.

"We're gonna have to climb the fence," he replied confidently. My eyes widened.

"I can't climb _that,_" I protested.

"We don't have a choice. Hurry, I'll be right behind you, I promise.": I sighed and looked up at the tall fence nervously before wrapping my fingers around the wire and pushing myself up. My foot found purchase on another part of the wire below me, and I slowly got the hang of going up the fence. I could feel Ponyboy right behind me, be the Socs were probably right below us now, I could tell by how loud their laughter was. I tried to go a little faster up the fence, when I heard Ponyboy cry out a little. I quickly looked down to see what the problem was. Two of the Socs had grabbed his ankle and they tried to pull him down. It looked like his fingers were slipping from the wire of the fence and I started to panic.

"Emily, just keep goin', I'll be fine!" he called up to me. The Socs started laughing harder and they pulled down hard. I instinctively reached my hand out, and Ponyboy reached up to grab it. I silently prayed in my head that this would work.

"Greaser! I bet you spend all day at your vanity combing your long, greasy hair!" I could still hear the Socs yelling, but Pony managed to rip his foot away and scramble up the rest of the fence. We got to the top and helped each other climb back down. He pulled me into a tight hug the second our feet touched the ground.

"You're okay," he whispered into my hair. "You're okay." I kissed his cheek and reached out for his hand again. He took it as we continued to walk to the Curtis house.

We got there with no problems and thankfully, nobody was home, because if they were, they'd be able to tell we just ran through bushes. There were leaves in our hair and stuck to our clothes, and we had to go to the bathroom to clean ourselves up before popping in the movie and laying together on the couch, cuddled up next to each other.

"I love you, Ponyboy," I whispered as the movie started.

"I love you too." He kissed my forehead.


	19. Chapter 19

_**Okay, so I have this chapter and the next chapter done. I'll post the next one later, and this might be kinda confusing at first but you'll get it so just keep reading! Thanks!**_

**Chapter Nineteen**

**Rebecca's POV—Ten years ago (1956)**

"I didn't do it, Michael, I swear!" Tears filled my eyes and I hastily wiped them away.

"What the hell are you talking about, Rebecca?" he demanded. "I _saw _you do it! I _watched _you stab me in the stomach!" The bright lights of the hospital room were making me dizzy. I hoped I wouldn't get in trouble for something I didn't do.

"I was with Stacey last night! You can ask her! Maybe you were just confused. Maybe you _thought_ it was me," I said hopefully. I knew in my heart that it didn't happen that way, though. I knew it was me he saw stabbing him. Of course, it wasn't _me_. It just looked like me and sounded like me.

"You're such a bitch," he spat. "I don't even know why I ever went out with you. You've always been such a liar, and I've been so good to you. You sleep around with everyone while dating me, you stab me, and now you're gonna _lie _about it, too?" I nervously pulled my short shorts down a little bit at the hint of being a slut. Yeah, it was true, but did he have to point that out? I've only cheated once or twice.

"Fine," I said, able to perfectly hear the icy tone in my voice. "If that's how you really feel, then we're over. I never gave a shit about you anyway." I threw my cigarette down on the floor in front of me and stomped it out.

"Good, just get out," he said quietly. I could hear the hurt in his voice and instantly felt bad. I approached him slowly, reaching out my hand to stroke his hair.

"I didn't mean it, Michael, I—"

"Save it. Please just go."

"But…I love you, Michael."

"I bet you do, slut," he scoffed. "_Go_." I noticed how he stumbled over his words as the got weaker and weaker. The heart monitor decelerated to a terrifyingly slow pace.

"Michael, please—"

"Go," he choked out. The slow, even beeps thinned out into one long one. A flat line. Michael Greene, the seventeen year old captain of the football team at Kingston High School that's loved by all, was gone. The sweet, selfless boy that let people walk all over them just to spare their feelings was now gone forever. Dead. And everyone was gonna think that _I _did it now. I could almost hear the people talking in school. _Oh, that's Rebecca Martin, the girl who stabbed her boyfriend to death. _Would I even _go _to school? I'd probably end up in jail.

I left the hospital room, slamming the door shut behind me and taking off down the hallway to the exit, trying my hardest to keep my eyes dry. Nurses and doctors were already flooding into Michael's room and a small bit of hope washed up in my heart. _Maybe they could fix him._ Maybe I wouldn't even get in trouble after all! I quickly speed walked my way to the heavy door, pushing it open and stepping out into the parking lot. The night air was cool. I rushed over to my motorcycle and plopped down on the seat, adjusting my leather jacket. I flipped my white-blonde hair over my shoulder in order to stick the black helmet on my head.

"Going somewhere, my dear?"

I whipped around to face the person—thing—that was the _cause _of this whole mess. I kept my cool on the outside, but fear bubbled up on the inside. This creature was capable of so many things—including ruining my reputation. I was the bad girl of Kingston, Oklahoma; the girl who stole things, jumped people, and slept around with every guy in the city.

The thing was, usually I didn't get caught. I tried my hardest, it was my main goal, to make sure that I was never arrested. Being arrested gives you a decent reputation, but everyone already _knew_ I was a bad girl. Why waste my time trying to prove it in jail? I have way better things to do than sit around in a cell all day, waiting for someone to bail me out. But this past week, I've already been arrested three times. Because _I _make sure that I never get caught, but _Counterfeit, _the demon who _pretends _to be me, tries his hardest to make sure that I _do _get caught. It's like fifty-fifty, he does the crime, and I do the time.

"What do you want?" I replied icily, as icily as my cold blue eyes.

"Did I not tell you to watch your attitude around me?" he responded authoritively. His red eyes started to glow and I started to feel a burning pain. I looked down to the source of it, my thigh. It was dripping red. I bit my perfectly glossed lip hard; it felt like it might bleed.

"I don't take orders from nobody," I responded, my voice a little softer. I revved the bike and took off at a speed that was higher than legal. _Don't look back, don't look back_, I repeated in my head over and over again. I concentrated on the road in front of me as I raced down it at almost seventy miles an hour. The speed limit was forty-five here.

Suddenly, Counterfeit was in front of my motorcycle, about five feet away. I was going too fast to break, and it didn't even come to my mind to turn around. I squeezed my eyes shut, thinking I was gonna hit him and crash, but I didn't. I went right through him, feeling a really bad chill as I did so. The bike screeched to a halt, throwing me forwards over the handle bars. I landed on my back in the grass about thirty feet away.

"You can't escape me, my dear. You're mine." The demon was on top of me, pinning my wrists to the ground. I tried kicking him off, but my back was aching. I wasn't strong enough.

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" I screamed. "What have I ever done to you?"

"To _me?_ Nothing."

"Then go away!"

"You _murdered_ someone, Rebecca," he sneered, pressing me down harder. "That was a very naughty thing to do. Murderers go to _hell_, you know."

"I didn't murder anybody!" I cried, still struggling to push him off me. "It was you!"

"But there were witnesses, dear," he said smugly. "_Three, _to be exact."

"I was at Stacey's house! She'll back me up!"

"Oh, really?" His face twisted into that of my best friend; golden blonde hair and sparkly green eyes. "I don't what she's talking about, your honor," her soft voice said firmly. "Rebecca was never at my house Friday night. I was with Cynthia at the skating rink."

"Cynthia'd back me up. She knows she wasn't with Stacey that night."

"Sweetie, how do you know your two friends aren't already gone?" Stacey's voice continued. My eyes widened in horror.

"You killed them?" I shouted.

"Nope." His face switched back. "_You _did." My eyes filled with tears and I closed them for a second, thinking of a good argument. I couldn't find one.

"You're not gonna fucking get away with this," I spat.

"My, my, my, what foul language for such a sweet girl," he said with feigned innocence in his voice. "I _always _get away with this. I've done it before, and I'll do it long after I'm done with you."

"I hate you," I whispered, my tears spilling out onto my cheeks.

"Tell me, Rebecca," he leaned in close to my face and whispered, "Why are you such a slut? Because maybe if you weren't, this wouldn't be happening to you."

"I'm not a slut," I cried.

"You are and you know it," he snapped back. "You should learn that when you _act _like a slut, you get _treated_ like a slut." His lips crashed down onto mine and I screamed. I felt myself freezing from the inside out as every little part of my body became cold, but I was able to come to my senses and push him away. The action took him off guard, and he fell off of me. I scrambled off the ground and ran over to the motorcycle, pushing it back into an upright position from where it fell to the concrete. Hopping on it as quick as I could, I started the motor and sped away, my tires screeching and leaving dust.

Even though my subconscious told me not to look back, I did. But Counterfeit was just standing there watching me with this smirk on his face and a dangerous glow in his bright red eyes.

* * *

The second I pulled into the garage when I got home, I ran in the house and locked the doors. I knew my parents wouldn't be home for the night because they were at some fancy party, and they had a house key anyway. Not like a lock would keep me safe from him, but it would keep me safe from anyone else who tried to get in.

I ran up the staircase to my bedroom. The lavender walls and purple bedspread were welcoming. They made me feel safe. Almost immediately, I strode across the room to my bulletin board that had pictures of Stacey, Cynthia, and I. All through the years, from about first grade to present time, tenth. My best friends were both gone and it was because of me, but I tried really hard not to care. Bad girls shouldn't care about things like that. I kicked off my boots, hung my jacket on the back of my door, and stepped into the bathroom that was attached to my bedroom. The brightly lit mirror made it look like a dressing room.

I stared at myself in the mirror. My makeup was smudged from crying too hard and I was covered in mud from falling in the grass. I sighed heavily and quickly got undressed and took a shower. The warm water cascading down my shoulders and back felt relaxing. I cleaned the cut that was still visible on my thigh, hoping that it didn't look _too_ disgusting.

When I got out, I wrapped myself tightly in a towel and dried my long hair, which was now curly at the ends from the water. I took the remainder of the makeup off my face and just stared into my own ice blue eyes. I swear I saw them flash red for a second. I jumped, nearly falling into the door, but steadying myself before heading back into my room.

"I can't believe you thought you'd lose me that easily," he chuckled darkly. He was sitting on my bed, just staring at me with his piercing eyes. I wrapped my towel tighter around me and stepped back into the dresser.

"I'm warning you right now," I threatened, "you better stay away from me."

"Or what?" he challenged. Nervously, I picked up my hairbrush and threw it at the mirror, causing it to crack and shatter instantly. I carefully picked up a big shard of glass, pointing it right at him. He just laughed, and I watched as the piece of glass disintegrated right in my hand.

"Go away!" I cried.

"You can't escape me, my dear Rebecca. Nobody does." I ran to the closet and locked myself in, hoping to buy a few seconds. I quickly threw on my pajamas and sunk to the ground, thinking hard. _I'm not gonna get outta this. I'm gonna die. _The closet door flew open, but nothing came at me, like I expected it to. I crawled halfway out the door, but the room was empty.

I got to my feet outside the closet door and looked around the room. Nothing was out of place. In fact, it almost seemed…_cleaner_ than it had ten seconds ago. I cautiously walked out the door of the bedroom and continued down the hallway. Nothing was wrong…which made it seem almost creepier. The silence sounded deadly.

"Why don't you c'mon out so I can kick your ass?" I called. My voice bounced off the walls and echoed in my ears, but nothing responded. I kept going and reached the top of the stairs. The bottom floor of the house was dark, even though I know I left at least three lights on down there. I went down, but stopped halfway when I heard a steady _drip, drip, drip._ I looked around, searching for the source of the noise, but realized it was only my hair that was still soaked from the shower I took. I kept going.

When I got to the bottom, I flicked on the light switch that was next to the staircase. The room didn't illuminate with light like it was supposed to. I tried a few more times, but realized that it wasn't gonna work, so I left it alone.

"I'm not scared of you, y'know!" I yelled through the house. There was a weird whispering sound suddenly that sounded like a hiss…and I realized it was saying something.

"Base…." It hissed. Base? What base? "…ment." Base ment. Basement.

"Fine! You want me to go to the basement? I'll go to the fucking basement! God dammit!" I stormed through the dark and empty house and jerked the basement door open. I snapped the light on, which didn't work. Surprise, surprise. I stomped into the dark kitchen and dug through one of the drawers under the sink. My fingers brushed against my target—the flashlight. I snatched it up and flipped the switch to _on _before making my way back to the basement door and going down the stairs. I shined the flashlight at the hardwood floor. Most of my house was pretty nice, including the basement. There was just a small section down there that wasn't finished, and it was a small separate room, anyway.

The basement didn't look weird in any way. The same refrigerator and couches were in the same places, along with the washer and dryer, television set, and phone. The floors were clean, as always. I spun around, shining the flashlight in every square inch of the room.

_Right this way, my dear. _The message was written in dripping red on the door of the unfinished part of the basement. I never actually went in it…I thought it was kinda creepy, actually. But I'm tough. I'm not scared of a stupid room. So I went to the door, twisted the rusted knob, and pulled it open.

It was a bathroom, I was assuming, when the flashlight fell onto a toilet with a sink next to it. Everything else was pitch black. My bare feet were touching the cold concrete. I looked at myself in the cracked, dusty mirror. My eyes looked less hard to me. More like a scared little girl. I kept looking in that mirror, trying to get my eyes to go back to the icy way they usually were. I wasn't scared. I wasn't scared of anything. In my peripheral vision, I noticed a line of red next to the mirror. I aimed the flashlight at it and followed it up the wall. It went onto the ceiling and kept going across the room, and I followed it. My feet hit something weird. I stepped back quickly and aimed the flashlight down. At two bodies. Two _dead _bodies.

My parents.

As soon as I got a glance of the two of them, wide eyed with blood dripping from their mouths, and took off towards the door. It slammed shut before I could reach it, though, and I twisted the knob, struggling to get it open. It wouldn't. I was getting a little desperate. I banged on the door, but I knew deep in my heart that nobody would hear it.

I couldn't take this anymore. He killed my boyfriend. He killed my best friend. He killed my other best friend. He even killed my parents, who I don't care too much about, but where was I supposed to get money from when I spent it all on booze or cigarettes? Who was supposed to bail me out of jail when I needed it? Oh, right, I probably couldn't just get bailed out now—I was a murderer

. Well, I wasn't, but all evidence points towards _me_. And did I have anyone to back me up? Not one person. Every one of those people were now dead.

My breathing hitched and suddenly, I couldn't breathe evenly. Hatred for the demon bubbled up inside me and I felt like I wanted to scream. Suddenly, the lights snapped on in the bathroom. Nobody was with me, but it was now brightly lit. I could see my parents' dead bodies in full now. Their faces were almost white, their eyes were wide and bloodshot, and pretty much their whole bodies were covered in blood. My mom was still in her long purple gown and my dad was still in his tux from the fancy party they were supposed to be at until later tonight. There was also a bathtub in the room, and I saw a shelf full of books, magazines, boxes, and a tool chest. A plan formed in my head.

I ran to the tub and turned the water on. It took a few seconds, but it worked. I turned the knob over so the water would be scalding hot. I clogged the drain and ran over to the toolbox on the shelf. I ripped it open, digging through the various tools in there.

A hammer, hand saw, scalpel, scissors, wire stripper, drill bit—and then I found what I was looking for—a blade. I took that and ran back to the bathtub. I dipped my pointer finger in, and instinctively pulled it back out again. My finger was red because that water was hot. But that's what I wanted. I ran back over to the shelf where I found a roll of duct tape and a few rags. This was a big decision, but I couldn't do it anymore. My mind was made up.

I ripped my shirt off and slipped out of my pants, leaving me in my bra and underwear. I shoved the cloth in my mouth, tried not to gag, and stuck the duct tape over it. Then, I took a deep breath through my nose and stepped into the tub, lowering myself into the steaming water. My natural instinct was to jump out of that water, but I forced myself to stay down. The heat burned my skin, turning it a bright red color. Pain seared through every part of my body, but I managed to keep myself strong. I took the blade and quickly slit random parts of me, hoping that whatever happened, it ended quickly so I didn't have to deal with this pain anymore.

I struggled to breathe. I couldn't do it. But I couldn't live here anymore, either. Counterfeit would haunt me until I was gone; until I'd be in way more pain that I was at the moment. I never thought it'd end this way for me. I always thought of myself as the tough badass that didn't let anything bother her. I never dreamed that I'd end up doing this to myself. It wasn't right. It wasn't okay to do.

But I never dreamed that I'd be haunted by a demon, either.

The blade hit a main artery in my wrist and the water started turning a pinkish-red color. I knew I'd bleed out, but that's what I was hoping for. I didn't care anymore. As long as I was away from that monster that destroyed me, I couldn't care less. My vision darkened and blurred, and right before it all ended, I saw the red eyes. I saw Counterfeit, staring back at me with this smug smile on his face. And my last thought _ever _was:

_This is what he wanted all along._

* * *

**_In case you didn't figure it out, this is some background on Counterfeit and some of his past victims. I hope you liked it and please review! Thank youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu god I'm annoying _**


	20. Chapter 20

**_Guys. Guys. Guys. GUYS. GUYS! Okay so hi! This is the last chapter that I have completely finished. Im working on twenty-one right now though! So I hope you like it! But before I let you read..._**

**_There's this girl on Fanfiction. Her username or pen name or whatever is _****_Carmen Ried. _****_Now if you love me, you'll go check out her story called _****_Hidden Kindness._****_ I'm kinda beta-reading it for her and it's really good so far and its DallyxOC so go check it out! Please! If you love me! But I understand if you don't love me, cuz I'm so not lovable. So now I'm gonna say if you love your favorite greaser, go do it. _**

**_Ha. Now you don't have a choice._**

**_Thank you and I hope you like this chapter!_**

**Chapter Twenty**

**Olivia's POV**

** "**Johnny, where're we going?" I asked impatiently. He ignored me, keeping his eyes on the road outside the T-bird that he borrowed from Dally, who borrowed it from Buck Merrill. "Johnny!"

"What?" he didn't look at me, but there was this cute little teasing smirk on his face.

"Where're we going?"

"We're goin' on an adventure."

"Seriously, are you plannin' on murderin' me or somethin'?"

"Only _you _would think that," he chuckled.

"Not true," I protested. "A lotta times girls are murdered, it's by their boyfriends or husbands. Seventy-five perfect of the time, actually."

"Thanks for the statistics, princess, but no, I'm not gonna kill you."

"Promise?"

"Promise, Olivia. Why would I? You know I couldn't live without ya."

"Aww," I cooed. "I'm kiddin', silly. I know you wouldn't…I'm pretty sure, at least."

"I wouldn't. I love you."

"Love you too."

"Just sit back and relax," he suggested. "It's a longer ride than usual."

"Are we going to a dark forest where no one can hear me scream?" I joked.

"No," he smiled, "but we _will _be if you don't stop asking me that." I gave him a pouty face, but he just laughed and looked back over to the road.

"I love you Johnnycake," I sighed, resting back against the car seat.

"I love you too."

I noticed for the first time that the car's radio was playing music quietly, and I turned the volume louder. I knew this song. I remembered hearing at Adeline's house when I slept over one night. I liked it, since it was Elvis, and a lot of greasers liked Elvis, but Addie didn't like it as much, probably because she's originally a Soc and they're all about the Beatles. Anyway, I found myself humming softly along with the song. Johnny glanced at me out of the corner of his eye.

"You should sing louder," he nudged me.

"Yeah, I don't think so."

"Please? I wanna hear."

"Ya wanna hear the sound of a cat dying?"

"Aww, c'mon, Olivia, I'm sure you have a real pretty voice."

"Wanna bet?"

"I'm willin' to bet, sure."

"Okay…if I'm bad, and you _can't _lie, you have to tell me where we're going."

"Deal. And _when _you're good…hmm…I get to tickle you when we get home!"

"Oh my god, Johnny, no. Why're you so obsessed with tickling me?"

"It's fun," he shrugged, "and your laugh is adorable.

"Ugh, fine. But only because I know you're gonna lose."

"Sure I am. Now let's hear it." I took a deep breath, and—

"Johnny, I don't wanna. I can't."

"Aww, c'mon, you just said you would."

"Well, now I'm not."

"Fine, be that way, but you realize this means I win." He smirked and poked my ribs, and I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Big deal."

"It's gonna be a big deal when I'm not gonna let you up tonight. Even when you _really _have to pee."

"You'll let me up," I waved it off. "You said you wouldn't last time, and you did."

"But this time, I'm not gonna. It's like your punishment for losing." I rolled my eyes at him and fixed my gaze out the window, watching the sun set on the horizon. The music kept playing in the background and I almost completely zoned out, watching the colors of the setting sun and hearing the music in the back, almost like a movie. I turned to face Johnny again and opened my mouth to say something, but he cut me off.

"We'll be there soon, Olivia. Hang in there."

"How did y'know I was gonna ask that?"

"I can tell by your face," he smiled at me. I smiled back and started to play with the button that rolled the window up and down.

"Is this place fun?" I asked.

"Glory, you're like a little kid sometimes," he laughed happily. "'Course it is!"

"I like fun places." I tucked my hair behind my right ear.

"Don't we all? Now stop being so adorable."

"Aww, why?" I gave him more puppy dog eyes.

"Cuz you're being distracting, and the longer you make this, the longer you have to wait 'til we get there."

"It doesn't matter. My adorableness doesn't affect how long it takes to get there," I pointed out.

"It does if I have to pull over to kiss you for a while." He blushed slightly.

"I actually wouldn't mind that," I admitted.

"Why don't we do that _after?_ We're gonna be late," he suggested.

"Late for what?"

"Our adventure!"

"Which is?"

"Nuh uh, no way, princess. You're not gonna get me _that _easily." He poked my nose playfully.

"Aww, poo," I pouted, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Be patient, we'll be there soon." He patted my knee.

"Patience is something I definetly lack," I said.

"I didn't notice," he replied sarcastically. I laughed and kissed his cheek. When I sat back in my seat, I started playing with the hem of my skirt. I hoped Johnny had fun on this date. I know he planned it, so he probably would, but I didn't wanna be the one to ruin the fun.

"Ya look real pretty, Olivia," he said quietly.

"Thanks," I responded, flashing him a smile. "You look pretty, too. Uh, I mean…handsome. Cute. Good. Y'know?" I felt my cheeks flush pink. He just laughed and kept driving, which I was thankful for.

After a few minutes, we turned left down a narrow street. A few streetlamps were already on, even though the sky wasn't really dark yet. There were a few buildings, but past that was a big forest with dark trees.

"I knew it! I knew you were gonna kill me!" I said smugly.

"Oh, calm down. I'm not gonna kill you, I told you that, silly."

"Hey, don't call me silly."

"You call _me_ silly."

"I can do whatever I want. I'm Olivia."

"You sound like Dallas now," he chuckled.

"I'm tougher than Dally," I joked. "Besides, he can't do whatever he wants, anyway. That's just me." Johnny laughed again.

We pulled into a big parking lot next to one of the old yellow buildings. I looked around at our surroundings, noticing that the building we were parked next to read:

_Skateland Roller Skating Rink_

"We're going roller skating?" I exclaimed excitedly.

"Is that okay?" Johnny replied nervously.

"Okay? This is awesome! I used to go all the time when I was little! But then I stopped going when my uncle died. He was the one who used to take me, and I've always wanted to go back but I never could and now yay!" I babbled. "Except I might've forgotten how."

"I can show you again if you want," he said shyly. "I've been goin' with Ponyboy so I can practice and get better." We got out of the car and slammed the doors shut simultaneously. I ran around the car to his side and threw myself at him in a hug, wrapping my legs around his waist. He pulled away a little and kissed my lips lightly.

"Love you," he whispered.

"Love you, too." I buried my face in his neck. We sat in silence for a few seconds, so I just breathed in Johnny's natural scent and admired the feeling of his arms around my waist.

"You're really light," he said suddenly.

"Are you serious? No, I'm not," I scoffed, jumping out of his hold.

"Yes, you are," he laughed. "You need to eat more food."

"I eat enough food. Are we gonna go, or not?"

"Glory, Miss Impatient," he teased. "C'mon, let's go." He held out his hand and I gladly accepted it as we walked towards the roller rink's entrance.

"I love you," I repeated, watching the shadow of our swinging arms.

"I love you, too." He let go of my hand to hold the door open for me, and I gave him a smile of appreciation before I went in and he followed me.

The room we walked into was small. That's where we had to pay and rent the skates. I was glad to see that admission was only three dollars and skate rentals were only two, so it wasn't that expensive. I didn't want Johnny wasting his money on me. The lady at the desk took our ten dollars, handed us each a pair of skates in our size, and told us to go ahead through the door leading to the rink.

"Ready?" Johnny asked softly, holding out his hand again.

"Definetly." I took it again and he pushed the wooden door open.

My jaw dropped. The room was _huge_, way bigger than I'd ever seen a skating rink. There were little tables and chairs, a concession stand, and a big rink with a disco ball and flashing lights. Music was playing in the background, too, loud enough to hear but quiet enough to talk to the people around you and be easily heard. But it was completely empty.

"Why's nobody else here?" I wondered.

"It's just us tonight, I guess," he shrugged, not meeting my gaze.

"Johnny, tell me why," I pouted.

"Alright, alright," he sighed in defeat immediately. "I rented it out for us."

"Johnny, that's expensive," I sighed.

"Yeah, but Dally helped me get the money," he said quickly, "and he even threatened the manager into giving us a one hundred dollar discount." I laughed.

"Sounds like Dally, alright. Thanks, Johnnycake." I kissed his cheek again, but before I was able to pull away, he hugged me tight.

"I love you, Olivia."

"Love you too. We skatin', or what?"

"Nope," he joked, "I just brought you here so I can stare lovingly into your eyes and tell ya how beautiful you are."

"Oh, shut up," I laughed, nudging his ribs. "C'mon." I pulled him to the closest table and we sat down at the chairs and put on our skates. When I went to stand back up, I nearly stumbled, but I was able to catch myself before looking like an idiot in front of my boyfriend.

"Y'know how to do this?" he asked.

"Kinda," I shrugged, taking little steps in order to get myself to the wooden rink. The carpet nearly caused me to trip again, but I waved my arms wildly and Johnny grabbed on to my waist to steady me.

"Careful," he warned.

"I know, I know."

With Johnny's help, I made it over to where we were supposed to be without falling flat on my face. He had a firm grip on my waist that kept me upright. We stepped down onto the wood at the same time, and he released his grip on my waist, holding my hand instead.

"Remember how?" he asked softly in my ear.

"Lemme try," I replied, pulling my hand out of his. I pointed my toes outward and started taking little steps. I stumbled a little, but steadied myself before continuing to take little steps.

"That's right," Johnny encouraged, putting a hand on the small of my back to keep me balanced when I stumbled again. "Now just glide your feet." I nodded and did as I was told, pushing off slightly with my heel and gliding. I got used to that feeling, alternating my feet each time. _Right, left. Right, left. Right, left._

"Like that?" I looked back at him for approval.

"Yeah! I bet ya used to be real good at this; you're doing great already!"

"Used to be?" I scoffed. "Please, I'm one of the pros." As I said this, my foot slipped from under me and I crashed to the ground, falling on my butt. Johnny quickly fell to his knees and wrapped his arm around me.

"You alright?" he asked, concern in his voice. "Anything hurt?"

"Just my butt," I said seriously. "And my pride."

"God, I love you," he chuckled, patting my hand and standing up, pulling me with him.

"Okay, I got this now," I assured him. And I was pretty much right. I only stumbled a few more times in the next ten minutes. And after that, I didn't even need Johnny's help. We could be on different sides of the rink, and I'd be able to keep myself steady and off the ground. Johnny was doing way better than me, though. He and Pony must've come here a lot. He was doing all the complicated stuff that I couldn't do, like skating backwards and scary spins and stuff like that. He helped me try, but I nearly fell again and decided that I'd stick to normal frontwards skating.

After about a half an hour, we ordered some food. It was kinda awkward since we were the only two there and there were two employees too. There was a girl that looked like she was in her early twenties, and another woman who looked older, probably in her senior years.

The younger girl always smiled at us and had a friendly look on her face, but the old lady looked sour and annoyed. She always had her eye on us, whether we were talking, eating, skating, or kissing. You could tell the younger girl, whose nametag said _Katie _on it, tried to get the older woman, Betty, to leave us alone, but she didn't want to, I guess. She was always whispering to Katie about something.

"Glory, she's makin' me feel awkward," I sighed, trying to hide my face with my hair.

"Ugh, I know, I wonder what her problem is," Johnny replied quietly.

"Maybe she's jealous because she doesn't have a romance that's as adorable as ours," I joked, leaning over the table to peck Johnny's lips.

"That's definetly why," he laughed, doing the same to me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Betty scowl.

After we ate hot dogs and drank Cokes, we went back out to the rink and started skating again. Johnny and I skated closer together when a string of slow songs came on, ignoring Betty, who gave us the evil eye anytime we got less than five feet away from each other. So she pretty much gave us the evil eye the whole time. Especially when I jumped into Johnny's arms the way I did in the parking lot, wrapping my legs around his waist and kissing him on the lips.

"I love you," I whispered, resting my forehead against his.

"I love you too," he laughed, kissing me back passionately, and I did the same to him.

"Keep it PG, kids," Betty screamed out in a scratchy voice.

"Ah, leave 'em alone, Betty," Katie said dismissively. "I say you can bring it on up to PG-13." She shot us a small wink before going back to wiping down the counter.

Johnny blushed, but I just laughed and kissed him again.

* * *

"Well, I'm exhausted," I yawned as the two of us walked through my front door. My parents were gonna be out late, so I didn't have to worry about them coming home and screaming at me or something like that.

"Ya better wake up for a little bit. Or at least 'til I'm done ticklin' ya."

"But Johnny," I whined, giving him a pouty face. "I'm tired." He shrugged and pulled me down on the couch, and before I could stop him, I was pinned under him and he was tickling me relentlessly. He started under my chin and I was squirming like crazy. But my main defense while being tickled is kicking, and he was sitting on my legs. The next one would've been swatting, but my hands were pinned under his knees. I was stuck.

"Johnny, stop!" I cried between bursts of laughter.

"What's that? Can't hear ya, princess," he teased, tickling me harder. He moved down from tickling my neck and went to my stomach, which tickled even more. I squirmed more, too, laughing harder.

_"I hope you enjoy some of your last moments with Johnny Cade."_

I stopped dead under Johnny. I couldn't even feel his fingers anymore, tickling up and down my stomach. I strained my ears, listening for that random voice I heard outta nowhere, but I heard nothing now.

"Olivia," Johnny's voice broke into my thoughts as he lightly tugged on my hair.

"What?"

"Are you okay? You just…stopped responding for a sec there."

"I—I just…can we just cuddle, Johnnycake? Please?"

"Sure, Liv, but are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, I—I love you."

"Love you too." He pecked my forehead and then my lips before pulling me off the couch with him and leading me to my bedroom. It wasn't much at all, just a small space with a bed, a desk, and a chair, but it brought me comfort to just be in it. It made me feel safer.

When Johnny and I were all settled in the bed, my back pressed tightly against his chest and his arm protectively around my waist, we turned out the light. When the light was out, the moon shined through my window, seeming to give my room and eerie glow. I didn't like it. I shifted my position, turning over and burying my face in Johnny's chest instead. It blocked out the light. He kissed the top of my head and pulled me closer.

"What's wrong?" Lying would be useless now.

"It's just…this whole ghost thing," I whispered. "It's scaring me."

"Aww, sweetheart, don't let that scare ya, okay?"

"I swear I just heard someone," I whispered even quieter. "That voice was scary." He stroked my hair and I looked up, noticing the worried look in his eyes even though there was a smile plastered on his face.

"I'll take care of you," he promised, pulling me closer into his chest. "Nothing's gonna hurt ya, I swear. I'll make sure of it."

_"It's a shame he's lying to you, Olivia. It's a shame."_


	21. Chapter 21

**_Hi guys! Just to let you know, my updates will probably be a little less frequent now because I'm posting right after I finish the chapter and then moving on, wheras I used to write way ahead and post it whenever I felt like it. _**

**_I just wanted to give a special thanks to Molly, who helped me with this chapter! Her pen name is Carmen Ried, so go check her out! I was really stuck and she gave me a really good idea so most of this chapter is based off of what she told me! I wanted to thank her so this chapter is dedicated to her and I changed the girls name to Molly XD._**

**_Thanks for reading and I hope you like this chapter! There will be more soon!_**

**Chapter Twenty-One **

** Molly's POV—Five years ago (1961)**

"What d'ya mean, Mary's not there? Where'd she go?" I asked, confused. The music from my best friend's birthday party floated through the walls into the kitchen, causing me to plug one of my ears so I could hear my younger sister. Mom asked Angelina to babysit our three little sisters that night since I had to go to the party, and she happily agreed.

"I'm serious, Molly," she said. I could tell she was struggling to keep her voice from shaking. "She was literally sitting right next to Felicia and Sophie on the couch, and I turned away for a second because I thought I heard a noise. When I turned back, she was gone."

"Angie, she can't just be gone," I sighed.

"She is, I swear. We looked everywhere." I let out another exasperated sigh.

"Fine, I'll be home soon. Just lemme tell the birthday girl that I gotta leave early, and I'll be home in, like, ten minutes, okay?"

"Okay, thanks." She hung up, and so did I. I sighed and left the kitchen, pushing open the door to the party room. The music was really loud in here, and I didn't like it that much. It was hard to hear anyone over it. I quickly scanned the room, searching for the girl who was throwing the party. I found her in the corner, flirting with some boy from school, and jogged over there.

"Hey, Cindy," I greeted her quickly. "I gotta leave early, I'm really sorry." Cindy didn't even respond. She just continued making googly eyes at the guy in front of her, twirling a strand of her hair with her finger. I rolled my eyes and turned away, pushing through people to get to the front door on the other side of the room.

The town of Roland, Oklahoma, where I lived, had been pretty hot for a few days now, but when I stepped out of that house, the first thing I felt was freezing cold wind. It sent shivers down my spine immediately. And then it was completely gone. The air was hot again, making me sweat almost instantly. My stomach sunk a little more.

Shaking it off, I got into the car and threw my purse down on the seat next to me. I started the engine and put the car in reverse. Lifting my foot slowly off the brake, I expected the car to go backwards, but instead, it lurched forward, missing the red car in front of it by a centimeter.

"Shit," I swore under my breath, inhaling deeply to calm my frantic heart. I quickly cut the engine, just sitting with my hands on the steering wheel in silence. Then I remembered why I was leaving early in the first place, and quickly started it again.

I held my breath, hoping that the car wouldn't repeat its previous actions, and thankfully, it didn't. I was able to successfully back out of the driveway and turn off the car-filled street safely. Instantly, I could breathe easier.

My house was only about five minutes away from Cindy's so I got to it smoothly with no problems. I pulled into the driveway and grabbed my purse from the passenger seat, stumbling out of the car and running up to the front door. I went to grab my key, but I noticed it was already open a crack. Hesitantly, I grabbed the knob and pushed the door open.

"Angie?" I called, my voice echoing through the house. "Anyone home? Why'd ya leave the front door open, stupid, I thought I told you—" I stopped dead in my tracks.

And I screamed so loud that I hurt my throat.

Three of my four sisters, everyone but the youngest, Mary, were hanging in the living room. _Hanging_. Their dead eyes were all wide open, staring at me eerily.

"Mary!" I screamed, running back down the hallway in search of my little sister. "Mary, where are you?" I tried to keep myself from throwing up as I ran up the staircase, my eyes darting everywhere. I ran in the direction of the five year-old's room.

She stopped me right in front of the doorway to her bedroom. It scared me for a second, how she seemed to come out of nowhere, but as soon as I saw the shoulder-length jet-black hair and light blue eyes, the trademark for the Dylan family, I pulled the little girl into a huge hug.

"Mary, we gotta get outta here, something really bad is happening." I grabbed her hand and tugged, attempting to drag her downstairs, but she didn't even budge. She was unusually heavy, for a five year-old.

"Do you know why Angie, Felicia, and Sophie are hanging from the ceiling, Molly?" she asked in her sweet little girl voice. I licked my lips nervously, feeling the tears slip from my eyes. I wiped them with my sleeves. Of course I _knew_. But I don't think it would be easy to explain the concept of a demon to a little girl. She just wouldn't understand it. Hell, _I _barely understood it myself.

"I dunno, Mary. But unless you wanna end up like them, we gotta get outta here." I pulled on her hand again, urging her to follow me, but she just stared at me with wide eyes.

"Did you kill them, Molly?" I looked back at her and started to respond, but she cut me off with her high-pitched voice. "Did you kill _me_, too?"

"You're not dead," I whispered shakily. "You're right there." She just continued watching me with her wide blue eyes, slowly lifting her arm up to point down the hallway. I turned my head in the direction she was pointing.

Mary was hanging at the end of the hallway, right in front of my parents' bedroom.

And then it clicked.

"Counterfeit?" I exclaimed. In front of me, Mary's eyes brightened into a glowing red.

"Stupid little girl." The voice was Counterfeit's deep and terrifying voice, not Mary's cute one. "I can't believe you fell for that." I stepped backwards, hoping I wasn't close enough to the staircase to be able to fall down it.

"You killed my sisters," I whispered shakily.

"I didn't, my dear," my sister's face twisted back into that of a monster. "_You _did." Anger and hatred bubbled up in me as I lunged for the demon, but I was thrown back into the wall behind me. My head pounded as I stood up.

"Just leave me alone, you psycho!" I grabbed a flowerpot off of the small table in the corner and hurled it at him. Just as it was about to make contact with his face, he disappeared and it smashed against Mary's bedroom door, spraying pieces of glass, dirt, and little flower petals all over the hallway. I whipped my head around looking for where he went when I felt something grab my wrists.

"If anyone's a psycho, it's you, dear," he whispered in my ear from behind. I attempted to pull my wrists away, but his grip on them got tighter and he pinned them to my waist. "How do you know this isn't all your imagination? How do you know you're not going insane?"

"I'm not insane," I growled, struggling to kick him, but suddenly it felt my feet were glued to the floor.

"That's what _all _insane people say though, isn't it, Molly?" I didn't respond and he shook me a little. "Isn't it?" Suddenly, all the weight was off of me, and he was gone. I took my chance to run downstairs. I nearly slid on the hardwood floor at the end, but managed to keep going.

I tugged the door open and sprinted outside, stopping only for a second to lock it tight. I winced when my bare feet touched the cold, rocky walkway, but I didn't have time to put my shoes on. I ran as fast as I could to the car, silently thanking myself for leaving my keys in my pocket instead of putting them back in my purse. I flung the driver-side door open and scrambled in, jamming the key into the ignition and backing up as quickly as I could.

I tried to breathe normally and keep the tears out of my eyes to avoid a car crash. I thought about who I could run to, and the first person that popped into my mind was Cindy. I checked the clock on the dashboard to see that the party should be just ending, so maybe my best friend would pay attention to me long enough to help me. I glanced up at the rearview mirror, hoping that I didn't look terrible, since I was just crying. My mascara was running and my eyes were puffy, but that's not what caught my eye. What _did _catch my eye was the glowing pair of them staring back at me in the backseat. I slammed on the breaks, earning a few honks, and whipped my head around to look, but nothing was back there. I faced forward again, pushing my hair out of my eyes and accelerated.

I pulled into her driveway and hopped out of the car before it was even fully stopped. I slammed the door. Most of the cars that lined the streets earlier were gone, so I figured the party must've been ending and people were leaving. I still heard music coming from the backyard though, so I pushed the gate open that led back there and closed it behind me.

"Cindy?" I called, my voice echoing through the night. My blue eyes scanned the backyard until I noticed something else.

The silhouette of another figure hanging from a tree. My stomach churned as I approached it, recognizing him as the boy Cindy was flirting with earlier. I let out a scream and sped off in the opposite direction, towards the backdoor of the house. I sprinted to the threshold of the door, looking out into the backyard for any sign of Counterfeit. There was a cold gust of wind right then, causing the door to slam in my face. My eyes widened as I reached for the knob and jiggled it roughly, but it wouldn't budge. I screamed with frustration before trudging further into the house.

A girl came out of the kitchen, walking over to me. Her blonde hair was in a braid on either side of her head, and she was wearing a nice party dress. But her eyes were bright red. She stared at me, and I froze. She looked pretty familiar…I felt like she was someone from my school. Counterfeit must've been messing with me. My heart was pounding against my chest so hard it hurt. Another boy entered the room with jeans and a ratty t-shirt. Another boy from my school, but again, his eyes were red. I pushed past them, running through the kitchen, and all they did was watch me for a few more seconds before exiting out the back door. _Weird._

_"You're insane, dear. Face it, you're insane_._"_

I whipped around at the familiar voice, but I saw nothing. I pulled open a kitchen drawer and grabbed a steak knife. _Just in case, _I told myself.

"Were you planning on doing something with that knife, Molly?" I whipped around _again_, gasping and taking a step back when I saw that the demon was directly behind me.

"Go away!" I screamed. Why did this have to happen to me? I didn't deserve this type of torture. I was a happy girl, with a family and friends. Now, I'm just…_empty_.

"Why don't you make me?" he challenged. My heart filled with anger and I brought the knife over my head, and stabbed it down onto him…but I cut through air. He was already gone.

"Molly? What are you _doing_?" I heard from behind me. I quickly spun around, my knife out and ready. The blade registered this time and cut through something other than air. My heart sunk. Counterfeit felt like ice, not like flesh and bones. I look down at the thing I'd slashed with the knife.

Cindy now had a bloody gash right across her throat. She was dead.

I leaned over and threw up right in the sink. My whole body was shaking and I felt like jello, all wobbly and unstable. I looked at the knife that I still had clutched tightly in my hand so I didn't have to look at the puke coming out of my mouth. My knuckles were white and my best friend's blood was still dripping from the blade. I'd killed my best friend. I just _killed _Cindy Davis, my best friend from elementary school.

I felt icy fingers running up and down my spine through my shirt. I already knew who it was, so I just ignored him, continuing to throw up the contents of my stomach into the sink.

"You deserve this," he whispered in my ear as I wiped my mouth on my sleeve. I swung around with the knife in my hand, and again, it cut through air. Two arms wrapped around my neck from behind and I felt my grip on the knife handle loosen, almost as if it was forced. I felt something slash my arm, from my shoulder down to the tip of my middle finger. I screamed and spun around to see that he was swinging the knife casually with two fingers, squirting some blood on the walls and the kitchen table. I stumbled backwards, into the refrigerator, thinking that this was it. I was gonna die soon, no matter what I did.

I ran down the hallway and to the front door, which I nearly crashed into before pulling on the knob. It was unlocked, but it wouldn't open.

Suddenly, I was pinned flat against the door, my back pressed against the cold, polished wood. Both of my arms were pinned above my head with incredible force, only by one of his hands. The second hand still held the knife, blood dripping from the blade.

"Help me!" I screamed, knowing deep in my heart that nobody would.

"Shh," Counterfeit whispered soothingly, almost making me want to obey. Almost. "Nobody can help you now. You might as well just give up."

"I can't," I choked out. My arm was killing me and there was a steady stream of blood going down the length of it. I had two choices: get to the hospital and get help, or bleed out and die. But I couldn't get out of the house. The doors wouldn't budge. But what about the windows? I pushed the demon away, and surprisingly, he let me. I ran up to the window in the front room, struggling to push it up. That didn't budge either, and on top of it, a searing pain went through my arm. I banged on the window with the good arm, screaming for help, but nobody was around to hear. Suddenly, there was a flash and all the lights in the house went out.

It was pitch black.

All I could hear were my own whimpers of pain and desperation as I felt around the room, trying to get myself back to the kitchen. It was hard, but I finally managed to find the kitchen counter with a tablecloth on it, along with bottles of Coke and Pepsi and trays of food. I took in a deep breath, struggling to calm myself down. I started digging through the kitchen drawers, hoping to find a flashlight, but there was none in sight. What I _did _find was a lighter and a set of candles.

I tried to hold the candle set in one hand and the lighter in the other, but I could barely pick up the candles with one hand. I set them down on the counter and lit all four of them, one by one, with the lighter. It didn't help much. I could only see a little bit better, but now I could see out the window that there was a young boy with red eyes looking in. Why do all these people look so familiar? Why do they all look like people from my school?

I thought I heard footsteps, so I turned around quickly. Five more people with red eyes, two boys and three girls, were just standing there. Staring at me eerily.

"Who are you?" I asked shakily. Instead of responding, they started to approach me. I panicked and quickly looked around for something to defend myself with. My eyes landed on the lit candles and a plan formed in my head.

I picked them up and threw them at the boys and girls, and they erupted in flames. They disappeared in a blur of orange and yellow, which illuminated the room. Staring at that red, orange, and yellow fire, I thought it looked pretty. More than pretty, beautiful. It looked like if you stepped into it, you'd escape into a world that was better than this one. A world where everything would be okay again, where you'd have a family, you'd have friends. Definetly a world where demons wouldn't haunt you for no reason.

I could've stepped into the fire, but I didn't. I decided to do something fun. The kitchen was pretty and ablaze, but the whole _house _had a chance to be pretty and ablaze. I shakily picked up the lighter and flicked open the top, admiring the bright flame. I was doing Cindy's house a big favor. Now it could be happy, just like I would be soon. I lifted my good arm in order to chuck the lighter at the curtains where the fire would spread pretty easily.

"I told you that you were insane, my dear."

"I'm not!" I shrieked, getting tired of the stupid demon that ruined me. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. I was supposed to go to college, get a boyfriend, get married, have kids! I was supposed to be able to tell stories to my children, and later, my grandchildren, but now that couldn't happen. All because of _him_.

"Normal people don't think fire's pretty, Molly. Normal people don't set fire to their friends' houses. _Normal people don't kill their best friend_."

"Fuck you!" I screamed, throwing the lighter at him. He was next to me in a second and we watched as the curtains were engulfed in flames, spreading quickly around to the whole room. My shirt caught on fire. It hurt so badly, but it felt so good. I could smell burnt hair. My knees gave out underneath me and I was having trouble breathing.

"Thanks for doing that, dear," Counterfeit smirked, stroking my burning hair. The fire wasn't affecting him at all. "It's all I ever wanted." I tried to pull away but I couldn't. My shirt stuck to me with the blood from my arm, and it was starting to feel uncomfortable. The flames soothed it. It felt like I was stuck in an oven, and I never wanted to leave.

Thankfully, I never did.


	22. Chapter 22

_**Guys I'm so so so so so so sooooo sorry for not updating in two weeks! My friends were over a lot and on top of that I've had MAJOR writer's block like it's not even funny. I stared at the same sentence for like a week before thinkning of something to write and it's still not that good and I'm really sorry! Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, please review and again I'm so sorry for the wait! I promise the next one won't be as long!**_

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

**Adeline's POV**

"Gah!" I cried, pulling my toe out of the cold water as fast as I could. "It's freezin', Sodapop!"

"Aw, c'mon, no it isn't," he laughed. He was already in the pool, swimming around like a little fish. I could barely get in. Even though it was really hot outside, my pool's water was cold for some reason. "You aren't scared, are ya?"

"Nah," I lied, scoffing.

"I think you are," he teased.

"I'm not," I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Oh really? Then prove it." He crossed his arms over his bare chest, laughing a little at my facial expression. Even though I had a pool, water did scare me, just a little bit. But that was only because my little cousin almost drowned once and we had to rush him to the emergency room. What if that happened to me? I shook my head.

"I can't."

"So you _are _scared," he teased again. I nodded in defeat. "Aww, c'mon, baby, the water ain't gonna hurt ya. I'm right here, ain't I?"

"But it's cold," I whined.

"I'm warm," he sang out. I laughed at him. He swam over to the steps of the pool where I was standing and held out his hands.

"What if I drown?"

"Would I let you drown, Adeline?" Realizing that he probably wouldn't, I reached out slowly and grabbed his dripping hands with my dry ones.

"If I die…" I threatened.

"Step down," he instructed, rolling his eyes. I hesitantly stepped down to the first step, wincing at the coldness of the water hitting my feet.

"It's cold, Soda," I complained for a second time.

"Down again," he ignored me. I stepped down again; now the water was up to my knees. "There ya go!"

"I wanna get out," I said quietly.

"C'mon, baby, just try it out with me," he urged. "If you don't like it after five minutes, I promise we'll get out."

"I dunno…" I trailed off, but his arms were already locked around my waist. He dragged me from the safety of the steps and into the freezing water. I instantly latched myself to his body, wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist, holding on for dear life.

"Sodapop, put me back!" I cried.

"Relax, Ad, you're okay," he chuckled, patting my back. "I gotcha."

"You're gonna drop me!" I struggled to pull myself further up his body.

"Are you doubting my strength?" he joked, placing his hands firmly on my waist and hoisting me into the air above his head. I screamed.

"Soda! I'm gonna fall in the water! Put me down!"

"Quit kickin', or I _am _gonna drop ya," he teased. "Admit I'm strong, and _then _I'll put ya down." He gave me a cute smirk.

"Okay, okay! You're strong! You're really strong and I love you!"

"Ooh, I love you, a bonus!" He tilted me forwards, causing me to squirm, and our lips met for a few seconds.

"Just put me down!"

"Sure, babe." I could tell by his voice that he was up to something. He shifted his hands on my body and I instantly figured it out.

"Sodapop Patrick Curtis, don't you da—ah!" He threw me into the air, high above his head, and I came plummeting down, right into his outstretched arms. He quickly pressed a kiss to my cheek before smiling.

"See? Nothing to be afraid of, I gotcha."

"You're lucky you're so cute," I glared at him.

"I _am _a cutie, aren't I?" He smiled smugly and I pecked his lips again.

"I love you," I whispered, burying my face in his neck.

"I hope you don't change your mind in the next hour or so," he laughed. I groaned.

"Don't let go of me," I begged.

"C'mon, Adeline, we're gonna learn to swim!" he exclaimed. I felt his arms slip from under my butt and I went down into the water.

"Sodapop!" I screamed, flailing wildly in order to keep my head above the water. He grabbed my arms, forcing me to stay still.

"Adeline," he said slowly, "it's only four feet deep here. Just stand up, silly." Blushing, I slowly put one foot down at a time and realized that he was right. The water only went up to my chest when I stood up.

Slowly, I got used to the water enough to stop flailing and screaming. It was actually pretty fun. The water got warmer and warmer as we swam around. Sodapop taught me how to play a few water games, like Marco Polo.

"Marco!" he yelled. His eyes were closed and a smile was plastered on his face.

"Polo," I replied, backing up slightly. He got a little closer.

"Marco!"

"Polo." I circled around him a little, and he spun around to face me again.

"Marco!"

"Polo." I attempted to swim past him quietly, but he reached out and grabbed my around the waist before I could try to get away.

"Gotcha," he whispered in my ear before spinning me around and kissing my lips. I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist, just like before when I was afraid of the water, but I wasn't anymore. His arms circled around my waist, his hands stroking up and down my back gently. When we finally pulled away, he rested his forehead against mine.

"It's more fun when there're more than two people playing," he explained.

"As long as you're here," I whispered, "it's fun anyway." He pulled back to look at me, studying my face carefully while running his hand through my wet hair.

"You're gorgeous," he whispered back, shaking his head slightly. He set me back down on my feet in the water, and I reluctantly unwrapped my arms from around his neck. "Deep breath." I did what he said quickly before I felt his hand on my head, pushing me under the water. I squeezed my eyes shut tight, struggling to keep the water out of them.

I felt Sodapop's lips on mine under the water, and his hands cupped my face gently. I scooted closer and wrapped my arms around his torso. I felt his lips stretch into a smile against mine, and then I felt mine do the same thing.

* * *

Later that day, we were sitting in lounge chairs next to the pool, sipping glasses of lemonade. I gradually felt the air getting cooler as it got later in the day, and I wondered why. Sodapop didn't seem to notice it. He was still sitting there in his swimming trunks with his arms behind his head, his bare chest fully exposed to the cool wind. I already slipped a cover up on over my bikini, and my arms and legs were covered in goose bumps.

"Ya cold, Ad?" Sodapop asked suddenly, setting down his glass on the small table next to him. I nodded and he held out his arms. I got up from my chair and plopped down next to him.

"But only a little." He chuckled, hugging me and pulling me into his chest.

"How're ya cold? It's literally eighty degrees out here." I shrugged and hid my face in his chest, locking my arms around his torso.

_"You're cold because of _me_."_

I pulled away from Soda and sat up as quickly as I could as soon as I heard that. There was nobody in the backyard, or anywhere in sight. The yard looked exactly the same as it had for the past three hours that Soda and I'd been there. But the water in the pool was moving, not a lot, but enough to notice it.

"Adeline, what?" my boyfriend urged, calling me back down to Earth.

"What?" I replied, shaking my head to clear it of the echoing words.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, uh, nothin'. Just thought about somethin', I guess." His blue eyes watched me. I noticed they had some worry in them.

"If ya need anything, I'm right here, alright, baby?" I nodded and slowly rested my head back on his chest. I could hear his heartbeat.

_"How much longer will he be here?"_ I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping that I'd stop imagining this freaky voice. My mom's right; I've probably been watching too many horror movies. But I couldn't really help it; they were really entertaining. And they were honestly more disturbing than scary. But trying to explain that to Olivia? That's a laugh. I watched a horror movie with her and C once when we had a sleepover at my house. She was squeezing my hand so hard that by the end of the movie, it felt numb. And C's just a lost cause. She was under her blanket fifty percent of the time, nearly shaking. I had no problems getting to sleep that night, but the two of them stayed up almost all night, torturing themselves with their thoughts.

"Leave me alone," I whispered. Surprisingly but thankfully, Sodapop didn't hear me.

We laid there for a little longer. The cold breeze I felt pretty much passed, and now it was hot again. But I didn't wanna leave Sodapop's arms, so I didn't. I stayed with my head tucked between his chin and his chest and my arms stayed around his waist. His eyes were closed, but he was awake. One arm was protectively around me while the other was lightly rubbing my head. Suddenly, his stomach rumbled.

"Hungry?" I giggled.

"A little," he admitted. I kissed his jawline before standing up and pulling him with me. We stretched before I grabbed his hand and led him into the house. It felt cool compared to the temperature outside.

"Okay, I can try to make dinner," I offered, "but I dunno how good it's gonna taste."

"Anything you can make is fine," he gave me a gorgeous smile. "I'll help you."

"I don't even know what I'm gonna make yet." I perched on the arm of the couch. "Any preferences?" He thought for a second, stroking an imaginary beard.

"Got any macaroni and cheese?" I got off the couch and walked to the kitchen, pulling open one of the cupboards.

"A lot of it…but it's really high up."

"No problem," he shrugged before leaning down and wrapping his arms around my knees. He lifted me up just high enough for me to grab the box before setting me back down on the ground gently.

"Thanks," I smiled, ripping it open. "You've gotten even stronger since the last time you picked me up! You couldn't hold me over your head before."

"What can I say? I've been workin' out," he joked, flexing his muscles.

"Keep at it, babe, it's workin'." He laughed and pecked my cheek.

After the water was boiled and the noodles were cooking, we were back to kissing. I was in Sodapop's lap, my arms locked around his neck. His hands were up my cover-up, but I didn't mind that much. It felt good, actually. I smiled against his lips, and he did the same. I unclasped my fingers from around his neck and ran them over his chest and admired his toned stomach. I felt my bikini strap slide down my shoulder, but all the sudden, we were interrupted by a loud beeping sound and we pulled away quicker than lightning.

"S'just the stove," I shrugged, reluctantly getting off of Soda's lap and adjusting my top so that the cover-up covered me again and my bikini strap was back on my shoulder. Sodapop smirked. "C'mon, the macaroni's ready."

"But we were just getting to the good part," he pouted jokingly.

"Later," I said firmly, pulling him up off the couch and dragging him to the kitchen with me. I turned the stove off and mixed the cheese stuff with the macaroni. Then I split the pot of it into two bowls, handing Soda his along with a fork.

"Thank you," he said sweetly, plopping down at the kitchen table. I sat down next to him with my bowl. "It's good," he chewed, nodding.

"Obviously," I kidded. "I'm the best cook in the world."

"_Second _best," he corrected, "coming after _me_, of course."

"You wish," I laughed, flicking his shoulder. "All you can really cook is green pancakes and blue chicken with a side of pink mashed potatoes."

"But they taste great, don't they?" he countered, shooting me a cute wink. I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Whatever, _Sodapoop._" He gave me a questioning look. "Heard Two-Bit call ya that once and thought it was cute," I explained.

"Don't do it again," he ordered, playfully pushing my head.

"Who's gonna make me?" I challenged, pushing his head back.

"Me." He stood up from his chair and grabbed me, throwing me over his shoulder before I could get away.

"Soda, no, stop! Where're we going?" He pulled open the sliding glass door and carried me to the edge of the pool. "Sodapop, if you drop me in, I'll hate you forever!"

"No, you won't," he teased. "You love me." He held me just above the water; I was dangling with my feet nearly touching the surface.

"Sodapop, please, I just dried off! I don't wanna have to do it all over again!"

"Promise you'll never call me Sodapoop again."

"I dunno if I can do that, Sodapoop." I felt his arms slip from my armpits slightly and I squealed. "Stop!"

"Promise, Adeline."

"Okay, okay, I promise! Now lemme go!"

"I notice you say that a lot around me," he teased.

"Cuz you're always givin' me a reason to say it!"

"Maybe." He didn't put me down.

"Uh, are you gonna lemme go?"

"Mmm, nope. You might have to beg for it."

"Never." His hands slipped even more. "Please Sodapop, please! I love you and I won't ever call you Sodapoop again, I promise!"

"That's better." He pulled me back into his chest and set me down. I felt the concrete touch my toes and I attacked my boyfriend in a hug. He pushed a strand of hair behind my ear, pressing his lips up to it.

"Wanna know a secret?" he whispered. I nodded. "I actually think Sodapoop's a pretty cute nickname."

"Soda! That was seriously all for nothing?"

"Maybe."

"You're the worst."

"You love me." Instead of answering, I kissing him passionately. I jumped up, wrapping my legs around his waist for about the third time that day. He held me up easily, kissing me gently, but passionately back. When we finally pulled away, I pecked his cheek.

"I love you, Sodapoop."

"I love you more, Addiepoo." He smirked at the new nickname and I glared at him. Instead of responding, he jumped back into the pool with me in his arms.

But I didn't really mind.


	23. Chapter 23

**_Ahh hi guys! Ha so my update has only been like five days instead of fourteen so be proud of me. I feel really dumb I've been having the worst witers blocks, so the one and only Olivia Cade (the one from the story but in real life) gave me the basic plot line for this chapter. Thanks, Olivietti (I'm laughng now) but anyway, someone tell Olivia she's not short. Leave a review or something. So I hope you like this chapter and the next one will be out soon! Thanks for reading and please review!_**

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

**Gloria's POV—One year ago (1965)**

"Alright, class, time's up. Put your tests face down on my desk and I'll see you all Monday," Mrs. McCormick announced. I sighed, putting my face into my hands. I know I failed this test, I just know it. My dad's gonna kill me. But he's been like that ever since Mom died when I was eleven. Everything's been stressful since then, and for the past few months, I've hardly been able to concentrate on schoolwork at all for a completely different reason.

I stood up, stuffing my pencil into my backpack and grabbing my test. I stared at my name on the front for a second. _Gloria Sayers_. Slightly nerdy, antisocial, straight-A student. _Until today_. I slowly walked to the teacher's desk, setting it down on top of the other piles of green papers. Taking a deep breath, I left the classroom with a sinking feeling of failure in my stomach.

XXX

At dinner that night, I sat at the table with my father, quietly picking at my food. I wasn't really in the mood to eat, especially because of the stupid test I took earlier. I thought I did as best as I could, but I guess even _that _wasn't enough. But then again, it's hard to concentrate when you have all this stuff on your mind, and trust me, this stuff made it hard to concentrate on anything. It wasn't normal stuff.

"Aren't you gonna eat, Gloria?" Dad asked, nodding towards my full plate.

"Uh, I'm just not hungry, I guess."

"Alright, well if you're done you need to go study. You have a test next week."

"It's not until next Friday, Dad," I reasoned. "I have plenty of time to study until then."

"Gloria, you know you won't get this scholarship unless your grades are perfect." My heart sunk realizing that the test I failed today would bring my grade down considerably. My grades wouldn't be perfect; not anymore. "You know we're not gonna have enough money to send you to college next year."

"I know, Dad," I sighed, hoping he didn't drag this out into another long lecture. Ever since Mom died, we weren't exactly the wealthiest people in the world. And my dad was devastated when he found out that without Mom to make some of the money, I wouldn't have enough to go into college. He was convinced since I was born that his daughter would be Little-Miss-Perfect, the girl that got into the best college and never failed a test.

But when he found out about this scholarship, he went nuts. All the sudden, my A's had to be turned into A pluses and they had to stay that way. It felt good getting good grades and studying and not really having a problem with school, but unfortunately, my social life was destroyed by this, too. No more hanging out with friends, no more parties, and _definetly _no more boyfriends. But I got used to it, I guess.

"I'm just trying to make sure you have a good future," Dad said, standing up and rinsing his plate out into the sink.

"I know, Dad," I repeated, before slipping upstairs to my bedroom.

My room wasn't very interesting. My bare light blue walls used to be covered in posters and pictures, but my dad forced me to tear them all down, saying that they were "a distraction when I'm supposed to be studying". The majority of my room was covered in textbooks and school papers that were neatly organized. I sat down at my desk, picking up the pencil and staring at the framed picture next to my History textbook. It was a picture of my older brother, my parents, and me all together. That's when we were all happy. It felt like it was all a dream.

I opened my History textbook and flipped to the page Mr. Bennett assigned, hoping that somehow I did good enough to get at least a C minus on that test. Maybe I could still bring my grade up if I did a lot of extra credit and worked even harder than usual for the rest of the quarter. A C minus would end up turning out okay. But I knew in my heart I wasn't gonna get a C minus.

I was gonna fail.

XXX

"C'mon, Gloria, you look really tired," my friend Kelly said in my bedroom that Saturday. Of course, my dad made it clear that Kelly was to come here to drop off my English book that I left in my desk at school and then leave, but she was stalling. "What's up?"

"I already told you, Kel, nothing's up," I insisted, not taking my eyes off of my Science textbook. "I've just been having trouble getting to sleep lately, that's all."

"Stressed?"

"You could say that." I turned around in my chair to look at her.

"Well, you look like you haven't slept in _days_." She sat down on my bed, her dirty boots touching the bedspread.

"Maybe that's because I _haven't_," I muttered.

"Wait, you seriously _haven't?_" She demanded incredulously.

"Well, it's not like I haven't _tried_. There's just…a lotta stuff on my mind."

"Going on days with sleep ain't gonna help ya none," she pointed out, digging through her purse full of random things.

"What're you looking for?" She ignored me, throwing a small white bottle at me instead. "What is this?"

"Sleeping pills. They're to help you, y'know, fall asleep."

"I don't need 'em, Kelly. I'll be fine." I tossed the bottle back to her, and she caught it, only to throw it back. I didn't catch it. It bounced off my head and landed at my feet. "Ow."

"Sorry. Seriously though, if you haven't slept at all, you should take 'em. They helped Bridget a lot."

"Bridget's twenty-five. Are you sure they're safe for teenagers?"

"You're eighteen, Gloria, not six. You're not a minor anymore, I'm sure they're safe."

"Are ya positive?"

"Y'know, as long as you don't overdose or anything. That wouldn't be good."

"Well, obviously."

"Gloria!" I heard my dad calling from downstairs. "Dinner's ready, it's time for Kelly to leave!" I sighed, picking up the bottle from the floor and set it on the desk in front of me.

"Well, I guess that's my cue to go." The blonde stood up, throwing her oversized purse over her shoulder. I smiled a little. "Just make sure you read all the directions on that bottle."

"I will, Kel, don't worry. Thanks."

"No problem. See ya in school."

"See ya," I nodded. She left the bedroom and I watched out the window for a few minutes until I saw her walk down the driveway and turn left down the sidewalk. When she walked far enough to be out of sight through the window, I picked up the bottle of pills, taking a closer look.

_Take two (2) pills a night. Eat food before ingesting. _Okay, that sounded easy enough. I saw another list below the instructions and glanced at it.

_Possible side effects: Changes in appetite, Burning or tingling feeling in the hands, arms feet, or legs, Diarrhea, Constipation, Difficulty keeping balance, Drowsiness, Dizziness, Gas, Dry mouth or throat, Headache, Heartburn, Stomach pain or tenderness, Uncontrollable shaking of a part of the body, unusual dreams, and weakness. _Wow, that's a long list.

"Gloria!" Dad yelled. "I said it's time for dinner!"

"Coming!" I quickly shoved the bottle in the drawer of my desk. If Dad saw that, I'd be in huge trouble. The same amount of trouble I'd be in if I failed this test.

XXX

That Monday, I sat in the back of Mrs. McCormick's class. That was unusual. Usually, I was in the front, right in front of the desk and the chalkboard where I could be sure I was paying attention as best as I can. But today, I was a mess. I couldn't even focus on the lesson. I found myself twirling my auburn hair and shaking my leg, struggling to concentrate. My focus went in and out every ten minutes or so, allowing me to pick up some random words, but ultimately, I learned nothing in that forty-five minute time slot.

"I'm going to hand back your tests from Friday," Mrs. McCormick announced suddenly. I shot up straight in my chair, knocking the books off my desk. Some of the students glanced at me and snickered. I felt my cheeks heat up as I got up to pick them up.

"That's enough," the teacher scolded sharply. "As I was saying, some of you did better than others on this test, but overall, the class did pretty well." My heart raced. She was at the row of desks next to mine, placing a green test packet face-down on the students' desks. There was a mix of emotion spreading through the class; excitement, sadness, and just plain indifference. And then she was at my desk. The green paper became visible and I felt her gaze on me before she moved onto the next row of desks. I avoided it by keeping my eyes glued to my lap. I stared the test, hoping that if I chanted _go away_ in my mind a million times, it would. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. I just kept staring at it. I didn't flip it over. I was afraid to do that. But it had to happen sometime.

"See you tomorrow, class; enjoy the rest of your day." I guess I couldn't stall any longer than I already did. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, grabbing the corner of the paper and flipping it up. My hurt sunk. There was a big capital F circled in red pen. And right below that:

_See me_.

I felt salty tears stinging my eyes, and I fought to hold them in. I'm gonna be in _huge _trouble. I took another deep breath before stuffing the rest of my books in my backpack and approaching Mrs. McCormick's desk.

"I'm sorry, Ethan," I heard her say as I walked up, "but cheating is unacceptable."

"Who gives a shit?" he snapped. "I got all the answers right, didn't I?"

"Watch your mouth, mister. I expect you to apologize to Vanessa, and I'll see you in detention tomorrow afternoon." She handed him a small pink slip. He just laughed and left the classroom, leaving only the teacher and me.

"Hi, Mrs. McCormick," I greeted, folding and unfolding the test nervously in my hands.

"Gloria, honey, what happened?" She asked kindly. I could've smiled, if I wasn't in this situation. I loved Mrs. McCormick, because she could be strict when she had to be, but she was so nice if you did what you were supposed to do. I shrugged in response to her question.

"I dunno."

"You're grades are always A plus, ever since the beginning of the year! Is everything okay?" I hesitated before responding.

"I guess I've just been more stressed out than usual."

"What's stressing you out?" I stopped dead. Usually, I felt like I could tell Mrs. McCormick anything; she was my favorite teacher. But this? No. I couldn't tell her something like this. She'd send me to the school therapist, something that would make Dad did even more furious with me. So I did something I felt terrible about.

I lied to her.

"Uh, my brother's just been sick lately and I've been kinda worried about him. I've been having trouble concentrating because of it, I'm so sorry."

"Oh, don't apologize, Gloria. Nobody's perfect, and I completely understand your situation." _You really don't._

"Thank you."

"Well," she ran a hand through her shoulder-length brown hair, "I can't give you a make-up test, since it wouldn't be fair to the other students. And unfortunately, when a student fails a test, the teacher's required to call home to a parent or guardian."

"No!" I cried. Her eyes widened a little and I cleared my throat before continuing. "I mean…please don't, Mrs. McCormick, I promise it won't happen again." She looked at me for a moment, probably thinking, and then responded.

"Okay, since this isn't a normal thing with you, we won't call home this time. But _only _this time, understood?" I nodded. "This won't happen again, will it, Miss Sayers?" She sounded stern, but she smiled at me, and I did the same back.

"No, it won't. Thank you, Mrs. McCormick."

But I didn't know at the time that I just lied to her again.

XXX

I pushed my black-framed glasses up my nose and stared at the same paragraph in my textbook that I'd been looking at for the last fifteen minutes. I can't believe I did it _again_. I flunked _another _test, the third one this week. And my dad didn't say anything to me yet, but I knew he was going to. There's no way Mrs. McCormick didn't call him after failing three more tests after the first one. But I couldn't help it. When I was studying, I didn't concentrate on what I read, I just _read_. With homework and tests, I didn't concentrate on what I wrote, I just did it.

I even wrote my name wrong on the last test I flunked. I didn't even notice until Mrs. McCormick drew a big red arrow to it with a question mark. That's when I noticed that I wrote down _Gloria Counterfeit._

He was forcing my life to spiral out of control. "He" being _Counterfeit_. The demon that wouldn't leave me alone for some reason. What did I ever do? I tried my best at everything. How could I deserve something like that?

"Gloria!" I heard a voice call. I shot up straight at my desk. It was Dad, and he sounded furious. He must've found out.

"What?" I pretended I didn't know anyway. I heard angry footsteps stomp down the hall and the bedroom door was thrown open so harshly it hit the wall with a _bang_.

"I just got a call from your teacher telling me that you're _failing _five classes! What the hell's the matter with you?"

"I didn't mean to, Dad, I—"

"You didn't mean towhat? Disgrace the Sayers family with your terrible grades? Y'know, your brother—"

"_Paul," _I replied through clenched teeth, "is not _me_. I'm Gloria, not Paul."

"You watch your tone, young lady. _Paul_ is at the best college he could possibly be at right now, making your mother proud, while you're sitting here _failing your classes!"_

"Dad—" Tears sprang to my eyes, but he cut me off again.

"You can't get any kind of scholarship if you're failing school, Gloria! You did so well all through high school, just to make a fool out of yourself in the end? Make a fool out of _me,_ too?"

"Dad, I've just been really stressed out—"

"Stressed out? _Stressed out?"_ He exploded. "You've never been stressed out! You have no idea how it feels to be stressed out! Do you know how stressful it is to have a failure for a daughter?"

"Nothing's wrong with having a failure for a daughter—"

"How can you even say something like—?"

"Will you listen to me?" I cried. "I'm not a failure! Do _you_ know how stressful it is to have to meet your goals all the time, to be constantly pressured to be perfect, to not be able to have friends or boyfriends, like normal people, because my dad is a perfectionist psycho?"

"How dare you say that to me? Your mother would be ashamed of you right now!"

"Don't talk about Mom. The person she'd be ashamed of is _you_. Mom always told us that as long as we tried our best, we were perfect, but with you it's always _more, more, more!"_

"If you don't raise your grades in the next week," his voice was scarily calm all the sudden, "you can get out."

"How about I just rid you of the embarrassment right now? How about I just get out so nobody knows your daughter failed something for once in her life? You can go tell everyone I died because I wasn't good enough for you!" I stormed past him and out my bedroom door, stomping down the stairs.

"Gloria, wait," he called from the top of the staircase. His voice was sad now, almost like he was gonna cry. I almost felt bad. But why should I care? He compared me to Paul. He called me a failure.

He said I disappointed my mom.

"Save it," I whispered, opening the front door. "I hate you!" I heard it echo through the house for a second before slamming the door—hard.

Norman, Oklahoma was freezing that night. I wished I brought something other than the small blue hoodie I had on. Tears streamed down my face, but they were quickly blown away as the came down by the gusts of cold wind hitting my cheeks. They were fogging up my glasses, so I took them off and wiped them on my shirt before putting them back on. Where was I supposed to go now? I couldn't go to Kelly's. Thanks to my Dad, I didn't even know where she lived. There was no way I was going back home. But then an idea formed in my head. I'd have to find a place to stay overnight, but it'd be okay. I could do that after I went where I had to go.

I turned around and started to walk, but I stopped short. I wasn't gonna pass my house—well, my old house. I refused to do that, in case my dad tried to stop me. So I turned around and started walking in the direction I was walking before, taking the long way around.

Eventually, I reached the main street. Usually even at night, it was jammed with cars trying to get where they had to go, but today, it was bare. There were no signs of anyone anywhere. All I could see were a few streetlamps shining on the concrete. It was silent. _Weird._

I took off across the street, and suddenly, I heard cars honking and swerving. When I got to the other side, I spun around to see the main street. But it was jam-packed with cars, all with bright headlights on, trying to get to where they had to go. But the road was just empty…wasn't it? A few of the passengers were flipping me off and giving me loud honks, so I said a quick "sorry!" that nobody heard and continued walking. I hoped that where I was going was as close as I thought it was.

The street was completely silent again. Not even any crickets chirping. There were no houses on this street; just trees and darkness. Some lights would've been nice, but there were none of those. Just lots and lots of trees. Suddenly, I heard rumbling in the distance and jumped. And then I realized—it was thunder. Perfect. Just what I needed on this already dreary walk. The tears kept coming and I struggled to wipe them away every time. Cold raindrops started to fall down, leaving drops on my hoodie. I hugged myself, rubbing my arms to try to stay warm, but I was shivering. The water started coming down in buckets, hitting the sidewalk hard. Lightning lit up the sky, allowing me to see that I was getting closer to my destination.

By the time I got close enough to read the sign, I felt like I just got out of the shower. My soaked hair stuck to my neck and my clothes stuck to my body, leaving me cold. My glasses had rain droplets all over them, and cleaning them didn't help so I left them. But as soon as I saw the sign, I ran up to it, feeling a little bit better.

_Norman Cemetery._

The path I took was really familiar as I entered the archway of the cemetery. I'd been here a lot since I was eleven, and usually Dad wanted me studying instead of coming here, so I had to sneak out at night. I was so scared that he'd find out the first time I did it, when I was twelve, but surprisingly, he never did. And I thought that when Paul caught me sneaking out to go one night, I'd be caught for sure, but when I told him where I was going, he just nodded and came with me. Dad never even found out, or if he did, he didn't say anything.

My feet carried me to where I knew in my subconscious to go. I kneeled down at the gravestone, re-reading the words that I already had burned into my brain.

_Michelle Lee Sayers (nee Fallon)_

_July 5__th__, 1923—June 9__th__, 1958_

_A loving daughter, wife, and mother of two_

_"You must accept that you might fail; then, if you do your best and still don't win, at least you can be satisfied that you tried." –Rosalynn Carter_

Even her quote was about doing your best, not being perfect. If only I could rub that in Dad's face right now. I traced over the engraved letters, feeling the cold stone brush against my fingers. I read it over and over again a few times as the rain poured down, mixed with my tears.

"Hi, Mom," I whispered finally, sniffling "I miss you…a lot. Sorry that I haven't been here…in almost a year. Dad's been pressuring me with school work and stuff and wouldn't let me come down to see you. And since Paul left for college, I didn't feel comfortable walking down here alone anymore. I kinda got used to the company…I hope you understand. But anyway, Dad and I just got into a huge fight," my voice cracked. "Some…stuff has been happening in my life and it's stressing me out, I guess. I've been failing some classes because it's all I can think about. And Dad flipped on me. He told me…he told me that you'd be disappointed in me." I wiped the tears with my sleeve. "But I tried really hard, Mom, and it was my best, even if my best wasn't good enough. I'm so sorry. I wish I was like Paul."

"How touching," I heard a voice from behind me with feigned sympathy.

"Haven't you hurt me enough already?" I demanded, whipping around to face him. "Just get away from me! I'm sick of you controlling my life!"

"Y'know, my dear, _hate_ is a very strong word."

"Yeah, so?" I sniffled, wiping my nose on the sleeve of my hoodie. Gross, but it was freezing outside and it was either that or let it run down my face.

"So you shouldn't say you hate someone unless you _really_ mean it." His glowing eyes seemed to cut through me like blades. And then what he was saying dawned on me. _I said I hated my father._ But I didn't _really _hate him…did I?

"I _do _hate my dad," I decided aloud. "He said I disappointed my mom."

"But maybe you _did_ disappoint her. Did you ever think about that?" Truthfully, I hadn't.

"Yes."

"You didn't, did you?" I sighed, shaking my head.

"So, you _hate _your father, correct?"

"I do," I confirmed, nodding my head confidently.

"Shame," he shrugged. And then he was gone.

"Wait! Come back!" I screamed, suddenly realizing his plan. "I don't hate him! You know I don't! Come here, I take it back!" I wiped the tears from my face again. "I love you, Mom," I whispered before taking off. I ran through the exit of the cemetery. My throat stung from the cold wind, but I just ran. I continued down the long street that got me here. Nothing was on my mind but my dad and how much I loved him.

XXX

I pushed open the front door as quickly as I could, running into the hallway.

"Dad? Dad, where are you?" I screamed. His car was in the driveway, so he had to be here. But I got no response. Maybe he was still mad at me. I groaned, tears spilling over again as I checked every room to find it dark and empty. I ran back to the hallway and sprinted up the wooden staircase. My hair and clothes were still dripping from the rain.

"Dad?" My calls were getting desperate. I was bawling now, and the tears were blurring my vision. I could barely see anything, but I knew my house. I ran to the first room at the top of the stairs, which was my parents' room. Well, now it was just Dad's.

The room was empty, but untouched. But as I looked around the room, I noticed that one thing _wasn't _untouched…the picture. The same picture that was in my room with a purple frame of the family was in Dad's room with a black frame. But the glass of the picture frame was cracked down the middle, separating Paul and me from our parents. And for the first time looking at that picture really closely, I noticed something. From a distance, we all looked like a happy family. Our identical green eyes were filled with sadness and exhaustion. But I've looked at this picture so many times in the past seven years…and I've never noticed that before.

Suddenly, I noticed that I heard running water. I turned around, looking for the source of it and noticed that the bathroom attached to the bedroom had its door shut. I walked up to the door, hoping that my dad was in the bathroom. But I felt something hit my shoes. I looked down, seeing a steady flow of water coming out of the crack at the bottom of the door.

'Dad!" I cried, throwing the door open. A flood of water flew out of the door, knocking me backwards and sending me back across the room. I gasped, realizing that the bathroom was flooded. And my dad's drowned body was next to me on the bedroom floor, soaking wet.

I covered my mouth with my hand and ran into the bathroom, seeing that it was all soaked and toothbrushes and razors were all over. The bathtub's water was still running. It was overflowing and the drain was clogged. I quickly unplugged it, watching as the water slowly started to drain out of the tub. And I ran back out of the bathroom, hoping to help my Dad somehow, but I knew deep down that he was dead. Dead just like Mom.

Dead and disappointed in me.

I brushed tears away from my face as something caught my eye. A white piece of notebook paper that was also soaked. It was next to my Dad's foot. My hand shaking, I reached for it, unfolded it, and looked at it. It was written on with pen, and the pen was smudged really badly and the paper was falling apart. But I could still read it.

_Dear Gloria,_

_ I'm so sorry for yelling at you because of your grades. I understand now that I put you kids under a lot of pressure to do well, and I'm ashamed of myself because of it. Honestly, it's only because I wanted you and Paul to be happy. You guys meant the world to me, and I'd hate to see you have to struggle with money and bills like I did after your mother passed. It's my fault that you failed your classes. I stressed you out too much, and I'm so sorry. You're right. You're mother would've been so proud of you for doing so well. She'd be disappointed in me for pushing you too hard. But I hope you come back soon…because I love you. I'd be devastated if you left forever and as soon as I find out where you're staying, I'm going to mail this to you. And I hope you always remember that I'm very proud of you, no matter what I say when I'm angry._

_ I love you,_

_ Dad_

Tears were pouring down my face even harder now. _Dad said he was proud of me._ And he said Mom was, too. He understood that he was wrong. And now I felt bad for walking out on my dad. Because maybe if I hadn't done that, he'd still be alive right now. I could still tell him that I'm sorry and I love him with all my heart. But now I can't.

When I looked up, red eyes met my own. I flinched, looking away from him and wiping my tears on my sleeve.

"I can't believe you killed him," I whispered shakily, staring down at Dad's face. At least he was in a place where he didn't have to have a terrible daughter that walks out on him.

"I thought you'd be happy." He stroked my cheek with one cold finger, and I slapped his hand away, wiping more tears.

"Why would I be happy?" My voice cracked. "You killed my Dad, you freak!"

"Hey, there's no need for name calling," he said with a smirk. "Besides, dear, I did you a favor. I thought you hated him." And then it dawned on me.

The last words I ever said to my father were _I hate you_.

I stood up as quickly as I could, nearly stumbling because of my shaking knees. I grabbed the first thing I could see and hurled it at the wall. It was the family picture, which now had more than one crack in it. I ran out of the room, running back into mine. I threw a bunch of things at the wall in there. My textbooks, pen and pencil cups, binders, backpack, all that stuff went at the wall. Some made a dent, which made me feel satisfied. I couldn't do this anymore. I could live like this. Where would I even go now? I had nowhere else to live. I could've bought a house, but with what money? I was broke. I let out a scream of frustration and ran over to my desk. It was still nice and organized just how I left it.

I pulled the drawer open, ruining everything. The things on the top of my desk knocked over and clattered to the ground and all my pencils and pens that I had arranged neatly in the desk were rolling wildly. But I snatched up what I was looking for. The white bottle.

Sleeping pills.

I ran to the bathroom across the hall and went into the cabinet under the sink, pulling out two paper cups. I set them both on the counter next to each other. I filled one with sink water, unscrewed the cap to the pills, and dumped as much as I could fit in the paper cup. When I looked back in the bottle, there was only about a half left. Good enough.

I popped three in my mouth at a time, struggling to swallow them because of all the crying I did. I got the three down and paused. Nothing felt bad yet. I needed more. I took four more and gulped them down, shuddering at the feel of it. Still no pain yet. I took more. And more, and then more. When I was at about twenty, my head was spinning and ringing. I pressed my hand against it to stop it, but it just hurt more.

"Feel good?" Counterfeit was leaning against the bathroom door, watching me with a smug smile plastered on his stupid face.

"You happy now?" I ignored his question. "Now you're gonna be responsible for my death. You're responsible for Dad's, too."

"I'm responsible for way more than that, my dear," he informed me. I felt my face twist with confusion. "And I'll be responsible for a lot more when you go."

"Wait." I stopped, struggling to focus. "You _wanted _me to die, didn't you?"

"Of course, Gloria. Why else would I have done any of this? It's fun."

"You're sick," I snapped, picking up my hairbrush and throwing it at him. He dodged it easily, chuckling.

"But I feel just fine. How about you?"

"I'm just glad to get away from _you_," I shot back.

"Oh, you silly little girl," he crouched down in front of me, holding my chin up so I'd look into his eyes. "You're never going to escape from me. I'll see you in hell, dear."

"I hate you!" I screamed, my eyelids fluttering. I could barely see what was in front of me and I felt like I was going to puke.

"Just lay down and go to sleep," he said in a soothing voice, pushing me down on my back. I couldn't help but obey. And right before everything went black, I realized that _I hate you _would not only be my last words to Dad, they'd be my last words _ever._


	24. Chapter 24

**_Hello, people! Quite honestly, this chapter was hard for me to write for reasons unknown to you, but known to me. So this is the last pretty filler chapter before we get back into the swing of things...for those of you missing Dally and C out there, they're coming up in the next chapter so hold your horses. Thank you for caring! Anyway, I didn't realize that it'd been over a week since I updated, but I literally just finished this chapter right now. And now I have to make my friend's birthday card, since her party is tomorrow, but if I get that done tonight, I'll most definetly be writing tomorrow because I'm really excited hehe._**

**_Anyhow, enjoy chapter twenty-four! Please read and please review because I'm not getting as many as I used to poo :( Thanks so much!_**

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

**Helena's POV **

"I don't understand how people don't like hiking," I commented, hitching my backpack higher on my shoulders. "It's so relaxing."

"I'm glad ya like it," Darry replied, throwing an arm casually around my shoulders. "Nobody else ever really wants to go with me."

"Aww, why not?" He shrugged in response.

"Most'a the guys work and Ponyboy goes to school…the girls're just terrified of bugs."

"Well, I'll go with ya anytime you want." I pecked his cheek and he cracked a smile.

"Thanks, darlin'." I smiled back and wrapped my arm around his waist as we continued to walk down the wide path. The weather was perfect; sunny, but not too hot, and a little breeze blowing my blonde hair backwards.

"We should just have a day where we force everyone to come with us," I suggested.

"That'd be fun," Darry agreed. "But, y'know, I like just us, too." He stopped walking and turned me around to face him, pressing his lips softly to mine. I smiled before he pulled away.

"Yeah," I breathed. "Just us is nice." I pulled him back, wrapping my arms around his neck. He returned the kiss for a second, but pushed me away.

"Later."

"Fine." He left his arm draped over my shoulders as we continued to walk.

"How's Amy doin'?" he inquired. Amy's my kid sister. She's thirteen and she's been having some problem with bullies lately at her school. The one time I brought Darry home, we caught her sobbing in her room with one of Dad's blades in her hand, obviously about to do something she shouldn't do. But Darry was able to do something that I couldn't; to talk to her and actually make her feel a little better about herself.

"She's doin' a little better, which is a start," I replied. "Thank you so much for talkin' to 'er, Dar. You're surprisingly good at making kid siblings feel better?"

"Ya kiddin' me?" he scoffed. "Pony'd probably disagree with ya if he heard that."

"Ponyboy just doesn't understand the responsibility you have," I reasoned.

"I hope he'll never have to. Not at my age, at least." He looked down at his feet.

"And he won't, thanks to you. Because, yeah, maybe you're a little hard on him at times, but you always apologize for it. At the end of the day, Ponyboy knows it's only cuz you care about 'im."

"You're good at making _me _feel better," he chuckled, dropping his arm from my shoulders and grabbing my hand instead. I squeezed it gently and he smiled.

We continued to walk in comfortable silence, swinging our linked arms back and forth and our steps in sync. Fallen leaves from the trees crunched under our feet.

"Where're we even hiking to?" I wondered suddenly. "I don't think I know the way back to the car." I looked backwards, hoping to see Darry's blue truck in the distance, but instead there was just trees, bushes, and little dandelions.

"It's fine, I know where we are," he reassured me. "I come out here a lot."

"Alone?"

"I already told ya, nobody ever wants to come with me. Besides, it helps me clear my head. Sometimes when I'm really frustrated with something, I just hike down the trails and think it out, so when I go back I don't take it out on anyone."

"That's smart. But be careful. You don't know what—or who—could be out here."

"I'll be fine," he shrugged. "What could possibly happen?"

"One time," I explained, "my dad and I were out hiking somewhere up north a little bit. I was about seven. And Dad didn't expect to see anything out of the ordinary, just birds and flowers and trees. We stayed on the trail, but we ran into a huge grizzly bear. Dad always told me the best thing to do if you saw a bear was to stand still, and we did. But the bear wouldn't leave him alone for some reason. He attacked 'im…nearly killed 'im. And I was so scared because I thought he was gonna go for me, but he didn't. He just left me there with Dad, who was unconscious. If it wasn't for that hiking couple that found me, I probably wouldn't have gotten Dad out in time. He would've been gone."

"You never told me that," he said softly, squeezing my hand gently again. I shrugged.

"Didn't really think it mattered. But if you're gonna go hiking alone…just watch out for yourself, okay?" I looked up at him and he grinned.

"I can handle myself, I promise. Thanks for carin', though."

"Of course I care," I replied. "I love you."

"I love you too. Hey, look, we're almost there!"

"Almost where?"

"To where we're going."

"So I get to see what's in that basket soon then?" I motioned to the wooden basket that hung from the strap of his backpack. He opened his mouth to respond, but a rustling sound cut him off. I flinched, and Darry instantly wrapped a protective arm around my waist.

"Relax," he said gently, "it's probably just a rabbit or somethin'."

"Are ya sure?" I strained my eyes to try to find the source of the rustling. There were bushes and trees surrounding us in almost all directions, so which one had the rustling come from? It stopped now, though, and Darry was rubbing my back lightly.

"I'm sure, Helena, calm down. I'm not gonna let anything hurt you." I took a deep breath and nodded. I turned around, just to check behind me. And I noticed something in the bushes.

Bright red eyes were looking right at me.

I screamed, my heart pounding in my chest. Darry's eyes widened as he pulled me into a tight hug and smoothed my hair down.

"What? What is it?" I turned my head again, but they eyes were gone. I mentally scolded myself for being an idiot in front of Darry and released him.

"Uh, nothing…I thought I saw something, that's all. Sorry." He chuckled.

"S'fine."

"Seriously, that wasn't supposed to happen. I didn't mean to do that, it just startled me, that's all," I continued, hoping that he didn't think I was an idiot now.

"Helena, relax. It's alright." He kissed the top of my head and I smiled. "Here we are."

I looked away from Darry and noticed that we'd walked far enough to the point where the big cluster of trees and bushes were behind us. Now all I could see in front of us was grass and the light blue sky with puffy clouds floating overhead.

"It's so pretty," I commented, looking up.

"That's why I brought you here," he replied. "Cuz it matches your face."

"You sayin' my face looks like puffy clouds?" I joked.

"I'm sayin' your face is gorgeous. Ready to see what's in the basket?"

"Yes!" I cried before quickly covering my mouth and repeating it, calmly this time.

"Okay, good." He pecked my cheek before setting his backpack, along with the basket, on the ground in front of him. He knelt down and unzipped the backpack, pulling out a folded piece of cloth. It was plaid blue and white. I looked at it with confusion, but as he unfolded it, I realized what it was.

A picnic blanket.

He spread it out neatly on the grass. It was pretty big, probably big enough for the whole gang to sit on, and then a few more people. When the blanket was down flat, Darry grabbed the basket and sat down in the middle. He motioned for me to join him, so I did.

"This is a big blanket," I voiced my thoughts, noticing that there was plenty of space to do whatever we wanted, really. Darry nodded.

"Mom made it that way. For when the whole gang wanted to have a picnic or somethin'."

"Your mom made this?" I asked softly. He nodded again. "It's so…perfect. It looks like a professional sewed it together."

"Well, we never actually got a chance to use it. Hell, if we did, it would've been destroyed. Those boys are nuts," he chuckled. "She finished it about a week before the accident." I didn't think anything I could've said at that point would've made him feel better. I felt bad for even bringing it up. I should've known not to do something like that. So I just hugged him tightly, rubbing his back with one hand and stroking his hair with the other. He hesitantly wrapped his strong arms around me. It felt good.

"I love you," I whispered. "I'm sorry."

"Aww, don't be sorry, honey." He patted my back gently. "I gotta talk about it sometime, anyway. It's been about two years, now."

"You can talk about it whenever you want to," I reassured him, burying my face in his chest. His arms tightened around my waist.

"Thanks, but let's have a happy day today, yeah?" I nodded in agreement, letting go of him and sitting back down. He opened the basket and starting pulling out a bunch of stuff. There was bread with lunch meats to make sandwiches, a big container of fruit salad, little bottles of water and juice boxes, complete with cream puffs and brownies, my two favorite desserts.

"Aww, Darry, this is so sweet! Thank you so much." I rested my head on his shoulder and he rubbed my arm gently.

"You deserve it," he said with a grin.

"I love you," I said again.

"I love you too." He kissed my forehead. His lips were soft.

As we ate, we talked. We talked _a lot_. Anything that popped into my head, I told to Darry, and it seemed like he was doing the same thing with me. He told me a bunch of funny stories, and I told a few in return, although his were funnier. Darry told me a lot about his brothers, and how he was glad that he and Pony were getting along better, even though they still had their occasional fights. He told me that it was upsetting that Sodapop had to take extra hours to work at the DX; that he couldn't let his younger brother be as much of a kid as he wanted him to be. Of course, I reassured him that he works really hard himself, working two jobs to make sure that Sodapop didn't have to work as much as he did.

"You can't be expected to make as much as your parents did. You're only one person, Darry," I comforted him.

"I feel like they expect more from me," he admitted. "And I feel like I should be able to earn enough money to the point where Sodapop didn't have to work more than full-time."

"I know it's tough, Dar, but Soda knows why he's doing it. Besides, he works at the DX, around _cars_, doesn't he? He loves cars. I'm sure he enjoys work, especially if he works with Steve."

"That's true," he nodded, discarding his empty plate into a plastic bag he'd brought for garbage. "I just hope they don't get into too much trouble over there. Sodapop and Steve are like the dynamic duo sometimes."

"They've been working together for _this_ long, haven't they?" Darry cracked a smile. I threw my plate into the bag after him and pulled him down so we were lying next to each other, looking up at the sky.

"Eww, the sky got darker since the last time I looked at it," He noted. I laughed.

"It's just grey. The clouds look kinda cool." I pointed up at the one that was almost directly above us. "That one looks like a pencil." Darry nodded.

"I see it. And that one," he pointed at the one to the right of it, "looks like a cloud."

"No duh," I giggled. "I think it looks like a switchblade."

"That one's a hippo."

"A hippo? That's clearly a rhino."

"Nah, it's shouting _hippo_ at me. No way in hell's that a rhino."

"Hippos don't have horns, Dar."

"They can _grow_ horns."

"No, they can't!" I laughed, hitting his shoulder playfully.

"Fine, you were—crap, did you feel that?"

"Feel what?"

"Raindrops." He was right. I felt a drop on my arm. And then my nose, and my forehead. I sat up quickly, pulling Darry with me.

"We should probably get goin' if it's raining," I suggested, closing the tops on all the containers of food and placing them gently back into the picnic basket. Darry nodded and got up, helping me with the containers and then folding the picnic blanket up. By the time it was folded neatly and in the backpack, it was nearly pouring.

"Leave it to the rain to spoil our nice date," Darry complained.

"Who says it's spoiled?"

"Well, I mean, we can't keep hiking if it's pouring like this. If lightning starts, we'll get hit. Especially with all these trees around."

"Haven't you ever watched any romance movies?"

"I mostly hang around with six other guys, darlin'. I've seen one once when Olivia forced us all to watch one, but we couldn't even get through the first fifteen minutes without the rest of the boys gettin' bored."

"Kissing in the rain is romantic," I informed him, rolling my eyes playfully.

"Then why don't we try it out?" Darry replied after a minute of hesitation.

"Thought you'd never ask." I attached my lips to his, wrapping my arms around his neck. His went around my waist, and I never felt more safe in my life. I was Darry Curtis's girl, and as long as I had him, nothing could ever touch me.


	25. Chapter 25

_**(Hello! Alright guys, we're back on track with chapter twenty-five! I just wanted to let everyone know that school starts in two days for me, and unfortunately, I don't have a study hall this year. Stupid Earth Science. So I might not have time to write in school, and then I'll have less time at home, but I'll still get to it, I know it. Cuz I mean other than school, I don't really do much. I'm like a platypus. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter! Please review! Please? My other chapter only got three and it made me sad :( sob sob. **_

_**I LOVE DALLY GUYS BYE.)**_

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

**C's POV**

After the long weekend that Dally forced me to take, I didn't really want to go to school the next Monday morning. I woke up groggy and cranky, and of course it didn't help that Dally was keeping closer tabs on me than ever since he found out about what was happening. It was nice to have him around a lot, honestly. It made me feel safer and nothing touched me the whole weekend. But sometimes, it was annoying. I was sixteen; I really didn't need a babysitter.

"I don't wanna get up," I mumbled to myself, burying my head in my pillow.

"Then don't," Dally's smooth voice came from next to me. He threw his arm around my waist. "Stay with me again."

"I can't. I have three tests today and I'm not making those up during lunch tomorrow."

"Just skip those, too, then." I felt his breath on my neck.

"That'll kill my grade," I protested, sitting up and pushing him off of me.

"You're ridiculous." He rolled over and threw my pillow over his head. I sighed and pushed myself out of bed, rubbing my eyes sleepily. I headed for the bathroom.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I wondered why I looked so tired. I hadn't had a nightmare since Wednesday night, and I got a decent amount of sleep every night. At least six hours, usually. My eyes still looked awful. Sighing, I picked up the brush and combed my hair until it was smooth. I splashed water on my face after that, trying to wake myself up a little more. As I turned around to dry my face with a towel, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I could've sworn my eyes flashed red.

I whipped around again, looking for any sign of a color other than brown. There was none. I rubbed my eyes, just to double check, before turning off the light to the bathroom. I went back to my room to finish getting dressed.

"Dally," I said softly, shaking him gently to wake him up when I was done. "I gotta go to school now. See ya later, alright?" He pulled the pillow off his face and looked at the clock.

"C, you've got an hour before the school even opens."

"It's okay," I reassured him. "They open the library an hour and a half earlier in case the students can't get there any later."

"You're gonna sit in the library for an hour?" He sat up. "Why don't ya just let me drive ya? I don't want ya walking alone anyway." I shook my head.

"Dally, I'll be alright. Just go back to sleep."

"Oh, I see what you're doin'," he chuckled.

"I'm not doing anything," I replied.

"You're tryin' to escape me, huh?"

"That's not what I was doing."

"Sure."

"Dally, I love you," I whispered, pulling him into a hug. He didn't hug back.

"Prove it." I didn't hesitate to kiss him on the lips, grabbing either side of his face. His arms snaked around my waist and his lips curved into a smirk against mine. I moved my hands down from his face, trailing them down his bare chest and stomach and resting them on the waistband of his boxers. His hands suddenly started traveling lower and I pulled back.

"Hey, behave."

"So, you get to be bad but I have to be good?"

"I wasn't being bad," I shrugged innocently.

"Y'know, we still have fifty-five minutes. We can make it quick." His hands slipped up my shirt casually.

"Knock it off." I slapped his shoulder lightly.

"Ow!" It obviously didn't hurt him. "Hey, that wasn't nice."

"_You're _not nice."

"I know." I sighed and got off of him, grabbing my backpack from the wooden chair at my desk and slung it over my shoulder, re-combing my hair quickly with my fingers. It was still frizzy. I sighed and picked up the brush from my desk, pulling it through my hair until it got smoother.

"You look really tired," Dally observed suddenly. I turned around at the sound of his voice and set my brush back down. He had a t-shirt on now, and was leaning against the closet door. "I dunno if you should go to school today, babe."

"I'm going, Dally," I said firmly, attempting to walk past him out the bedroom door. He grabbed my wrist, stopping me. I sighed heavily and stopped in front of him. He looked at me for a second before saying something again.

"Fine, go if you want. When you fall asleep in the middle of class and get a detention, don't come cryin' to me."

"That won't happen."

"Mhm." I rolled my eyes and left the room. He followed me down the stairs. "You gonna eat before you leave?"

"Nah, I'm good."

"You're gonna get a headache, too, then." I shrugged and pulled the door open, leaning against the wall.

"Dal, chill. I can take care of myself; I'm not a baby."

"You're _my _baby." He pushed me gently out the door as I gave him an incredulous look.

"This demon thing's really gettin' to you, huh? Either that, or you're getting' softer."

"Hey, I'm just tryin'a be nice," he defended himself. "If you don't want nice, I can give you _not nice_, trust me."

"I dunno," I smirked, opening the passenger door, "nice is pretty cute."

"I'm gonna pretend like you _didn't _just say that word again."

"Go right ahead, cutie." He groaned and I laughed as I got into the car. He's loosening up a little bit, but he's still the same old Dallas Winston.

XXX

"So, I'll pick you up for lunch then," Dally told me as I climbed out of the car at the curb in front of the school. "Twelve-thirty, right?"

"Twelve-_fifteen_," I corrected. "Thanks."

"Yup. And listen, if anything weird happens—"

"Yeah, yeah, call you and find Olivia or Johnny, I got it."

"Immediately," he added.

"Immediately," I repeated in a monotone.

"Good. See ya later babe." With that, he sped off in the direction of Buck's place, probably to take a nap again. I glanced at the clock on the outside of the school. I had a little less than forty-five minutes to just sit in the library and wait. I sighed heavily before walking up the long walkway to the concrete steps.

I pushed the door open and the hallway was empty. I wasn't really used to seeing that. Usually it was filled with Socs and greasers laughing and talking and glaring. But today it was just filled with red lockers and empty classrooms, most with their lights off and doors locked. I could see the library from down the hall, though. It was probably the biggest room in the school, next to the gym. The light was on and I could see Mrs. Franklin, our school's librarian, organizing books in the fiction section. She liked me well enough, considering I was a greaser. Most teachers didn't like us too much. I speed-walked to the room and slowly walked in.

"Hi, Mrs. Franklin," I called. She turned around from her book organizing and smiled at me warmly.

"Hello, Corrin. Why're you here so early?" I shrugged in response.

"Just couldn't wait to get to school," I kinda laughed.

"I bet. But it looks like you could've used a few more hours of sleep." I shrugged again.

"Anything you need help with while I'm here?" I set my backpack down on one of the chairs next to me.

"Actually, yeah, if you don't mind." She led me over to a cart full of books.

"These all go in the nonfiction section," she instructed. "If you could put them in alphabetical order by title, that would be so helpful."

"Sure," I nodded, giving her a smile before dragging the cart over to the shelf labeled _nonfiction_. I looked at the four rows of books and inwardly sighed. This would be a lot of work, but I guess it beats sitting around doing nothing for the next forty minutes.

I was kinda getting into it for a little bit. I had thirty-five minutes flying by and one row of books left. I studied the first book from the last row, trying to remember if I'd read it yet. I didn't think I did. I placed it in the right spot, between L and M. I grabbed another one and looked at the title. _Gone with the Wind. _I shuddered looking at those words. They reminded me too much of that period of time where the gang nearly fell apart. I stuck it between G and H.

"Having fun?" I whipped around at the voice, letting out a little scream and nearly falling back into the bookshelf. His cold hand slipped over my mouth, silencing me.

"Corrin? Are you okay over there?" Mrs. Franklin's voice came from across the library.

"Shut up," he growled in my ear. "I'm fine, Mrs. Franklin; I just dropped a few books. Sorry!" His voice turned to mine, along with the rest of him. He let me go, pushing me slightly and causing me to stumble.

"What do you want?" I hissed, dusting myself off and picking up a book that had fallen from the cart. I looked at the title and stuck it between C and D.

"You don't notice things when you're focused on something," he informed me, flipping back to his own body. "I've been standing here for the past ten minutes." I chewed my lip nervously, grabbing three books at a time and sticking them in the right place.

"Go away," I replied simply.

"No," he answered, smirking deviously. It kinda reminded me of Dally's dangerous smirk. Except Dally's was cute. "So your boyfriend knows about me now, huh?"

"You don't bother me when he's around, so I'm glad he does," I shot back, making sure to stay quiet since Mrs. Franklin was right across the room.

"You think I'm scared of the delinquent? Please," he scoffed. "There's a reason for everything I do, Corrin, but _fear_ is never one of them. Remember that."

"Then why haven't you done anything to me this whole weekend? The whole time I was with Dally?"

"There's a reason for everything I do," he repeated. "I'm smarter than you, dear. Don't pretend like you have me figured out."

The bell clattered suddenly, startling me and signaling that students should start going to homeroom. I looked at the half row of books that was left on the cart.

"And trust me, Dallas isn't able to protect you from what I'm gonna be throwing at you. He's not as strong as everyone believes he is." And with that, he was gone.

"Oh, good, you got a lot done!" Mrs. Franklin exclaimed happily, walking over to me.

"Um, yeah, sorry I didn't finish them all," I apologized. "I can stay a little longer and do the rest, if you want."

"Oh, no, that's fine. I'll do the rest. Thank you, dear."

_Dear_. That threw me into thought a little bit. Counterfeit calls me that. He calls me that a lot, actually. Why? I have no idea. Isn't _dear _a term of _endearment?_ It's like saying sweetheart, or honey, or baby. _Dally _doesn't even call me dear. It sounds kinda old-fashioned, or at least not really something teenagers would say. But I still remember the first time Counterfeit said it, almost like it was yesterday. I could still hear his voice echoing in my brain. _You're most certainly not dreaming. Gotta go, dear. You'll see me soon. Goodnight. _And that wasn't even in person. That was just his voice. And then in person, it was even worse. _Quiet, my dear, I told you I'd explain. _The words weren't worse, just the way he said them. The way they filled me with fear and made my heart feel cold and—

"Corrin!" I jumped a little.

"Sorry, what?"

"You should head to homeroom before you end up late." The librarian gave me a weird look. "And if you don't feel well at any time today, please stop down at the nurse's office. Maybe you can go home and get some sleep."

"Thank you, Mrs. Franklin." I gave her a small smile. I grabbed my backpack from the chair, slug it over my shoulder, and hurriedly left the library.

I walked quickly in the direction of my locker. The hallways were filled up now, and I noticed that I was getting weird looks from people. Probably just because I was a greaser. But wait, the greasers were looking at me like that, too. I brushed it off and kept walking, hoping I was imagining it. I didn't do anything to make them look at me like that. Unless—maybe "I" did. As I walked past a group of Soc guys, three of them started coughing randomly. And they looked right at me, coughing out words.

"Slut," The first one coughed.

"Whore," his friend added.

"I bet a million dollars that Winston's gonna murder her," the last one chuckled. _What?_

"Why would she cheat on _Dallas Winston_? A greaser girl whispered to her friend. "Does she even know what he's gonna do to her?"

"Who cares?" The other one answered, not as quietly as the first one. "He's single now and sexy as hell. I _totally _call dibs." _Cheat on Dally? _What the hell's going on?

"Yeah, Abby told me that Randle kid said she was real easy." Two more Socs passed by me with nasty looks on their faces. I felt tears stinging my eyes, but I managed to keep them in. I couldn't really do much at this point, so I just went quickly over to my locker. There was a little white piece of paper taped to it, folded in half. I unfolded it and read the messy handwriting.

_Hey, Corrin! I heard you slept with Sodapop Curtis. He good in bed? He's hot. Oh, and my friend heard that shy little Cade kid's not so shy in the bedroom…true or false?_

I felt my cheeks heat up as I ripped the note into little pieces and dropped it into the bottom of my locker. No way are people saying I slept with three of my best friends. That would mean _I _cheated on Dally, and that would mean _they _cheated on _their _girlfriends. I haven't slept with anyone in my _life_. Suddenly, I noticed a flash of red go by out of the corner of my eye.

"Olivia!" I called, spinning around. I noticed her look around before walking up to me.

"What?" she answered quietly.

"What the hell's going on?"

"You didn't hear?"

"Hear _what?"_

"Everyone's saying you slept with the gang."

"The whole gang?" She nodded. "Well, I didn't!"

"Are you sure? I mean, maybe you were drunk or something..."

"Olivia, I don't drink. You know that."

"I dunno."

"Do you seriously not believe me?" I asked incredulously. "You _know _what's going on!"

"Why're you talking to _her_, Olivia?" A greaser girl I recognized from gym demanded, walking up to us. "She slept with your boyfriend."

"Olivia, you know you don't believe that," I pleaded. "Johnny wouldn't cheat on you." The other girl glared at me before grabbing Olivia's arm and starting to drag her away, but I pulled her back. "Johnny loves you. You can't be mad at him for something he didn't do."

"I'm not mad at him," she snapped, "I'm mad at _you."_

"Okay, that doesn't even make any sense."

"Well, you probably forced him. Like you said, Johnny wouldn't do that to me. Not willingly."

"Are you kidding me? Johnny's stronger than me, stupid; I couldn't force him if I wanted to."

"Maybe. But I mean, why would _Adeline _lie?" The girl tugged on her arm again, and this time I let her drag my friend away, my jaw dropped open in disbelief.

XXX

The rest of the day wasn't any better. Instead of listening to Mr. Smith in math, the rest of the students were pointing and whispering and passing notes. The teacher didn't even notice. He just kept droning on with the lesson. I couldn't stop looking at the seat to the left of me out of the corner of my eye, wishing that Olivia was sitting there instead of the Soc girl that was there instead. Olivia decided to sit in the back of the classroom today. She wouldn't even look at me. And the Soc who was there instead, Victoria, kept looking at me with a smirk on her face. I was bracing myself, waiting for her to say something stupid. It came eventually, towards the end of Mr. Smith's boring lecture.

"So, Corrin," she started. I was usually used to everyone at school calling me Corrin. C was really only the gang's nickname, although some people outside of it called me that. But it was pissing me off today. "Who was the most fun in bed?" Her voice was a whisper, but it went through my ears like speakers. "I thought it would be the oldest Curtis at first, y'know, Darrel, cuz he's all muscles and stuff, but then I was thinking Steve cuz he's real aggressive. But now I'm wonderin', maybe it's that little Johnny kid. He's so worthless, he's gonna let his frustrations out on something, and redhead over there certainly isn't helpin' him any."

"Shut up, Victoria," I commanded through clenched teeth. Of course, she didn't listen.

"But I mean, I guess sleepin' with any of 'em would be a good time. I mean, let's face it, they're all pretty hot even though they're nearly hobos. And poor little Corrin just gets herself walked all over, can't say no, huh?"

"Stop."

"Actually, I think the best one in bed would be Dallas, but of course, you're the whore that sleeps with everyone _but_ her boyfriend."

"Shut up!" I cried, a little loudly. The whole class looked over at us, and Mr. Smith stopped talking. I wished I could disappear.

"Do we have a problem over there, girls?" We both shook our heads and I looked down at my desk, my face red with embarrassment, but Victoria answered quietly enough that Mr. Smith wouldn't hear her.

"Yeah, we have a girl in the classroom that can't control her hormones." I sighed heavily and looked at the clock, hoping that twelve-fifteen came quickly.

"Alright, class," Mr. Smith concluded when he was done teaching. "Take out your homework from Friday and I'll collect it." Papers shuffled around as students dug through their stuff, searching for their homework.

"Corrin," he snapped suddenly, causing me to flinch. The boy behind me chuckled. "Why didn't you hand in your homework?"

"Uh, I wasn't here Friday, sir."

"Yeah, she was busy fucking every guy in the world," a guy laughed in the back of the class. Everyone laughed.

"We don't need that kind of language in here, Mr. Quinn," Mr. Smith replied. He handed me a piece of paper. "Have this done by tomorrow, then. And see to it that you get a little more sleep. It's really affecting how much attention you're paying to the class." Victoria giggled. The same greaser guy that spoke up before raised his hand, and I cringed, knowing this wasn't gonna turn out well. This kid didn't filter what he said when he talked to teachers.

"Corrin's so tired because she was screwing a bunch of guys this weekend. And she can't pay attention because she's busy wondering how bad her boyfriend's gonna beat her ass when he hears about it." He laughed loudly, and so did the rest of the class.

"That's enough, Mr. Quinn. Go down to the principal's office for your language in class. You should know better than that, mister." He chuckled, grabbed his backpack, and left the room. He clearly didn't care about getting in trouble. The class continued buzzing, and of course they were talking about me. Mr. Smith couldn't get them to settle down, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Olivia stand up and shoot her arm into the air.

"Yes, Olivia?"

"May I go to the bathroom?" I could hear her voice crack.

"Go ahead. Take a hall pass, please." She nodded, grabbing her backpack and storming out of the classroom. There were tears in her eyes. I automatically stood up from my seat, hoping to convince her that it was all a lie.

"Sit, Corrin," Mr. Smith ordered.

"But—"

"I said sit." I sat, sighing heavily. The clock still read ten-thirty. Only an hour and forty-five minutes left until I could see Dally again. He'd know what to do. He always does.


	26. Chapter 26

**_Okay, this chapter is a lot shorter than I actually thought it was because I wrote most of it in school and it took up a lot of pages in my Dally notebook but then it was only four here but I really have to update so I just left it. So, I started school last week, and usually I get barely any homework. Well, this year, I have no study hall, which was a big time for me to write last year, and on top of that, I have a ton of homework. So my writing is coming out slower and slower so I really am sorry for that and I wish it wasn't like that but it is. I'm working on sneaking in my notebook in homeroom though, so let's hope Mr. Kirsits thinks I'm reading and not writing...and if he decided to look at that notebook...oh my god let's hope that doesn't happen._**

**_So anyway, sorry for the delay in waiting but I'm working really hard to get more up and write more down, I promise. This chapter's also kinda short, so I'm sorry about that. But thank you so much for reading and please please please please pleeeease review! Please! For Johnny! Please! Okay sorry I made you read all that if you bothered...bye!_**

**Chapter Twenty-Six **

**C's POV**

Dally's T-Bird was waiting at the curb again at twelve-fifteen. I was almost scared to go up to it. What if he heard something already and believed it, like Olivia did? But I couldn't hide behind that small tree forever. Right as I stepped out, the guy from math, Kenny Quinn, noticed me and started following me.

"Hey, Corrin," he called, "hiding from your boyfriend?" I rolled my eyes and kept walking to the car, and he kept following. "Winston!" he yelled. I just ran over to the T-Bird and plopped into the passenger seat, throwing my backpack to the floor at my feet.

"Don't listen to 'im, Dal," I pleaded.

"Winston, y'hear your girl's a whore?" Dally unbuckled and was about to get out of the car, but I stopped him.

"No, just drive, please," I begged.

"Is that guy givin' you trouble?" he demanded, jerking out of my hold.

"Please just go. I'll explain, I promise." He sighed and slammed his foot down onto the gas pedal. I held onto the seat as the car swerved wildly, turning the corner.

"Relax, C, Christ." The car steadied a little, although I noticed he was still going faster than the speed limit. "Now what's goin' on?"

"I dunno, Dally," I babbled quickly, "I just went to school today and everyone's saying I slept with the whole gang except you, but I didn't, I promise, I swear on my life I didn't, and Olivia doesn't believe me even though she knows about what's happening with this whole Counterfeit thing and I think it has something to do with that because I didn't cheat on you, I promised I wouldn't and I don't break promises and I love you and—"

"Woah, woah, woah, slow down. Take a deep breath and repeat that. Slower this time." I did what he said and repeated what happened, making sure to speak slowly and clearly.

"I didn't cheat on you, though, I promise," I finished as we pulled into a vacant lot and parked, wiping the tears from my eyes with my sleeve. I kicked my backpack with frustration.

"Are you positive you didn't?" he asked, his smooth voice quiet.

"Dally, please, you have to believe me. Nobody else does. I need you, I love you; I wouldn't do that to you." More tears slipped out. Dally nodded a little, considering what I said.

"Okay, babe," he replied. "I'll get it all figured out, alright? Relax." I nodded, slipping my arms around him and burying my face in his chest. He gently patted my back.

"I'm sorry," I sniffled.

"D'ya know who would've said something like that about you then?"

"I dunno," I shook my head. "I'm pretty sure it was Counterfeit."

"What?"

"The demon."

"Oh, right."

"But Olivia doesn't believe me. She's all mad at me because she thinks I slept with Johnnycake. And everyone else."

"She believes those dipshits at school over her best friend?" He reached into the backseat and pulled out a wrapped burger and fries, handing them to me.

"Guess so. Not hungry."

"Eat," he ordered, thrusting them at me. I rolled my eyes and popped a fry into my mouth.

"But she told me Adeline told her, and Adeline's her best friend."

"Why would Adeline talk shit like that?" He handed me a cup. "Besides, all we have to do to prove that's a rumor is ask the rest of the guys."

"That's true," I nodded, taking a sip from the straw.

"We'll get it worked out, I promise."

"Thank you," I said quietly.

"And try talking to Olivia, but if you can't, then I will."

"I already did."

"Try again."

"Fine," I sighed.

"Good. Now hurry up, we've gotta get you back by one or else you'll flip on me," he nudged me in the ribs and I cracked a smile.

"I love you so much," I said quietly.

"I know. Now eat."

XXX

Back at school, the day went on as it did earlier. Olivia ignored me and everyone else laughed and pointed and teased. I ran into Ponyboy and Johnny at the same time, and they heard about it but didn't get a chance to actually hear the story.

"C, people are saying you slept with the whole gang," Ponyboy whispered as he walked up to me. "You can't have that going around!"

"Well, it's been going around all day," I replied. "And you can't really take back something like that now."

"Is anyone mad?" Johnny asked worriedly.

"Olivia's not mad at you, but she's mad at _me,_" I sighed.

"Does Emily know?" Ponyboy broke in.

"I dunno, Pony. I dunno who knows. All _I_ know is that Olivia's pissed at me and everyone else thinks I slept with you guys."

"Well you didn't," Johnny said.

"Obviously," I snapped, and then immediately felt bad. "Sorry, Johnnycake. Just frustrated, y'know?"

"I know," he nodded.

"D'ya know if any of the other guys heard about this?" I asked.

"I dunno, I haven't seen anyone else today," Ponyboy answered.

"Did ya tell Dal?" Johnny wondered. I nodded.

"He knows."

"At least he's not mad."

"Yeah."

"It'll work out, C," Ponyboy reassured me. "It has to. It always does."

"Thanks, Ponyboy." I hugged him tightly and he patted my back. I pulled Johnny in too, and we had a group hug. We pulled apart right as the late bell rang.

"Crap. Well, I'll see you guys later, I guess. I'm gonna try to find Olivia; talk some sense into her or something."

"Just don't scream at her or anything please," Johnny warned. "She's probably upset."

"'Kay," I replied shortly. "Love you guys." I spun on my heel and sped down the hallway. I knew for a fact that Olivia and I both had our free periods at the same time, and they were both this period. I just had to find her.

And I finally did, after about fifteen minutes of looking. She was in the last stall of the bathroom, obviously not on the toilet, but just sitting in the ground. I could tell by her worn red and white Converse and jeans.

"Olivia," I knocked on the stall lightly. "C'mon, talk to me."

"C, just go away." I sighed. This wasn't gonna be easy.

"No, I'm not going away. I need to talk to you."

"I have nothing to say to you."

"Why don't you just ask Johnny if I slept with him?"

"Cuz he'd obviously lie so I wouldn't get mad at him." I rubbed my temples, frustrated.

"Can you stop being a baby and come out of the freakin' bathroom stall so I can actually talk to you?"

"_I'm _the baby?"

"You're being ridiculous!"

"Okay, _I'm_ ridiculous. I'm not the one who's cheating on her boyfriend, remember?" her voice cracked slightly.

"Olivia, Dally believes me. Why can't you?"

"Dally probably just doesn't wanna deal with it. He doesn't give a fuck if you cheat on him. He's Dally Winston, for Christ sakes. He could just go find an equally slutty girl to screw for the night and then walk out on."

"Are you even Olivia right now? What the hell are you saying?"

_"If that was me, I couldn't be doing this right now, trust me." _I froze and looked around the bathroom, but there was nothing.

"That's seriously you, Olivia?"

"Who the fuck else would it be?"

"Do you not remember what happened Thursday night? The whole ghost thing? Do you not remember that?" Suddenly, she stood up and slammed the stall door open. Her face was tear-stained and makeup was smudged everywhere.

"And you really think I'm gonna believe some shit like that?"

"What?" I could hear the surprise in my voice.

"That a _ghost _is haunting you? Jesus Christ, you're not five, Corrin. And I can't help the fact that you're just looking for attention."

"Olivia, what—"

"Really, don't you get enough already? With the whole Luke thing that put the whole gang in danger and everyone had to go save _you. _Now a ghost thing where everyone goes to save _you_. It's always about you!" Tears stung my eyes and I bit my lip hard.

"I can't believe you'd believe everyone at school over me," I whispered.

"Why's it so unbelievable? You're a liar. And Adeline told me she actually saw it happen, and I believe her. Adeline's my best friend and she wouldn't lie to me."

"I'm your best friend too," I countered. "I wouldn't lie to you, either."

"Oh really? Because I think it's more like you _were _my best friend. Maybe I'll go fucking screw Dallas now; see how you and Johnny like it." And with that, she stormed out of the bathroom. My jaw dropped, and for the first time in a while, I didn't care about the rules. I just sunk down to the bathroom floor, ignoring the bell when it rang for next period.

XXX

"C, what the hell are you doin' in here? School ended a half hour ago." I pushed myself off the bathroom floor and threw myself into his arms, hugging him tightly.

"Dally, Olivia's really mad at me. Like _really_ mad."

"I told you we'd get it figured out, didn't I?"

"Y-yeah but she doesn't believe me. She b-believes Adeline."

"Okay, okay, stop cryin'. We'll go find Adeline and talk to her about it. I told you it'll work out. Calm down." I pulled away and wiped my eyes.

"Sorry," I sniffled, mentally cursing myself for crying. I could see in the mirror that my eyes were red and my mascara was running.

"Stop." He threw his arm around me and gently pulled me out of the bathroom. "We'll go to the Curtis'."

"No, Dally, I don't wanna go there. Olivia's gonna be there, and Adeline'll probably be there—"

"Stop," he repeated, silencing me. "We'll talk to them if they're there."

"I don't wanna."

"Tough shit." I groaned and allowed him to drag me out the front doors of the school. I jerked out of his grip and continued walking, falling a few steps behind him with my arms crossed over my chest and my gaze glued to my feet.

"Jesus Christ, what the fuck crawled up _your _ass?" I glared at him. "Oh. Right," he sighed. We reached the car and climbed in. I threw my backpack down at my feet and started digging through the pockets hoping to find makeup remover to get the zebra stripes off my face. I hoped this whole mess would end soon. _It probably won't, though,_ I thought to myself, ripping open a package of them and zipping my bag back up. The car started pulling out of the parking lot. _It never does. _


	27. Chapter 27

_**It's chapter twenty-seven, but the story is far from over, trust me. I've got a bunch of good ideas going with this one. Sorry for the late updates again seriously they're loading more homework on than I'm used to and it's taking forever. And I used to write in the morning but now I kinda can't cuz I have musical rehearsals like every day but I'm working on it I promise I gotta go now mom's screaming at me to come eat so I gotta go but I hope you like this chapter excuse the awful punctuation in this authors note please review thank you!**_

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

"Dallas, they're all gonna be mad at me," I whispered weakly as we walked up the walkway leading to the Curtis house.

"Then we'll go somewhere else," he shrugged simply, reaching into his pocket for a cigarette.

"I don't want them to be mad," I protested, stopping when I got up the porch steps. "They're my best friends."

"Then _I'll _talk to them."

"Your version of _talking _is _hitting_." He shrugged again, sticking the cigarette between his lips.

"Works a hell of a lot better," he said, allowing the puffs of smoke to leave his mouth.

"And this is why you get arrested all the time," I sighed, grabbing the cigarette and stomping it out."

"Hey, you owe me another cigarette." He pushed me up against the porch railing, pinning me to it with his body and snaking his arms around my waist. My heart sped up considerably, and by the smirk on his face I could tell he felt it.

"You need to stop smoking so much," my voice came out shaky, because now Dally's lips were at my neck. "Now get off, please."

"No," he replied simply. He started nibbling softly and I shiver flew down my spine. I clenched my teeth together and he chuckled, "you want me."

"Never denied that," I pointed out, my cheeks burning.

"Now you gotta stop thinking about this whole thing. I told you to stop." He kissed my neck one more time before pecking my lips.

"I kinda can't." I slipped my arms around his neck and rested my head on his chest.

"Now we're gonna go in there, and you're gonna relax, or I'm gonna _make_ you relax, got it? We'll get them to believe you."

"Dally," I whispered pleadingly, "I can't—"

"Aww, look at the little lovebirds over here," a new voice cooed. Dally quickly pulled away from me and leaned back against the porch pillar, jamming his fists into his pockets. I laughed quietly at the slight red tint in his cheeks.

"Shut up, Two-Bit," he mumbled.

"Aww, even cuter! Dally's embarrassed!"

"Leave 'im alone, Two. I'm never gonna get 'im to hug me again if you do that," I said.

"You got that right," he laughed. "You crazy kids comin' in, or not?"

"Uh, y-yeah, I guess."

"Why so hesitant, Corrinie? Sick of us already?"

"No," I replied, cracking a smile.

"Hey, Two-Bit, man," Dally interrupted, clapping his friend on the back, "did you hear anything about this rumor going on at the school?"

"Uh, yeah," he replied. "I promise I don't have a baby shark living in a fish tank at home. My tank is full of dirty underwear and empty beer bottles. A shark wouldn't fit into a tank that small anyway; it just doesn't happen."

"Somebody started a rumor that you have a baby shark in your house?" I asked. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"Not _that _rumor, dispshit," Dally snapped, reaching into his pocket for another cigarette. I grabbed his hand and held it, stopping him. I saw him glaring at me out of the corner of my eye, but I ignored him.

"Oh," Two-Bit answered. "What rumor then?"

"The rumor about my girl fucking all you idiots," my boyfriend growled, clenching his fists and accidentally squeezing my hand painfully in the process.

"Dally!" I squeaked, trying to shake my hand out of his. He softened his grip, but kept his fingers clenched around mine.

"What?" Two-Bit choked out, spitting his beer all over the grass in front of us. I cringed and dodged the line of fire. "Who the hell said that? You know that's not true, Dal. C, tell him it's not true."

"Relax, Two, he believes me. I think," I answered nervously. "Right, Dally?" He sighed.

"All I know is that if you're lying to me," he pointed at me, "I'm gonna murder you."

"Dally, I'm not lying!" I cried. "You know I'm not; I've been with you all weekend!"

"Woah, woah, relax. I believe ya, kid. I'm just warning you." I sighed with relief.

"Okay, so Dally believes me," I muttered, mostly to myself, "but nobody else does."

"All the other guys'll obviously say you didn't, as long as you didn't," Two replied.

"I didn't!"

"Then you have nothing to worry about, right, girly?" He patted my head.

"I guess so," I mumbled, crossing my arms over my chest.

"So…you comin' in now?" Two-Bit asked.

"I guess so," I repeated, letting Dally slip his arm around my waist and guide me into the house. A feeling of dread filled my stomach as I walked through the door, gently shutting it behind me. Adeline was sitting with Sodapop. Great. And Olivia was curled up in Johnny's lap on the couch. Even better. I exhaled deeply before Dally sat down in the armchair, pulling me into his lap and wrapping his arms securely around my waist. I noticed Olivia mumble something into Johnny's chest and he sighed, patting her back softly.

"Hey," Two-Bit exclaimed cheerfully, plopping down on the couch next to Adeline and propping his feet up on her head. She pushed them off.

"Eww, Two-Bit," she giggled, scooting closer to Sodapop, who laughed. "Hey." It was silent for a minute.

"So, uh, what's goin' on here?" Dally asked the room. "With this…thing." Olivia took one glance at me, rolled her eyes, and hid her face in Johnny's neck again.

"What happened?" Sodapop asked.

"C screwed up," Olivia replied simply. Sodapop looked at me questioningly, but I ignored him.

"Olivia," I pleaded, "can you stop? I was with Dally the _whole weekend_. How could you even think I'd do something like that?"

"I don't even wanna talk to you right now," she snapped, jumping out of Johnny's arms and storming into the kitchen. I started to follow, but Johnny stopped me.

"I'll talk to her," he said quietly, quickly walking into the kitchen.

"What's going on?" Adeline asked me.

"You should know," I said sharply, getting frustrated.

"What're you talking about?" I shot out of Dally's lap.

"Corrin, calm down," he commanded immediately, and I ignored him, too.

"Why would you even lie? Why would you tell everyone something like that?"

"Something like _what_?"

"Don't pretend like you don't know!"

"Corrin, sit." Dally guided me back to the armchair, pulling me back into his lap.

"She's lying! She knows what I'm talking about!" I cried, pointing at Adeline, who looked at Sodapop with confusion. He just shrugged.

"C'mon, Ad," Dally grabbed my hands and held them down in my lap, "don't play dumb if you know what we're talking about."

"Dallas, I literally do not know," she said slowly. I started to reply, but Dally slapped his hand over my mouth and told me to shut up. I listened.

"You didn't hear anything at school today?" he asked her.

"I didn't _go _today. I wasn't feeling good this morning."

"So you have no idea what they're talking about?" Two-Bit clarified, talking the last swig from his beer bottle.

"Well, I mean, I have a guess," she said, looking down at her feet. "But it's not a lie. I saw it with my own eyes."

"Saw what?" Dally pressed.

"I saw C kissing Johnny," she said, her voice a whisper. Suddenly, Olivia stalked back into the room, Johnny at her heels.

"See? Adeline saw it!" She cried.

"Adeline saw wrong!" I protested, yanking Dally's hand away from my mouth.

"Are you seriously calling me a liar?" Adeline demanded.

"I didn't kiss Johnny! I didn't see him all weekend!"

"Well, it was definitely leading to something more than kissing," Adeline snapped. I looked over at Johnny, who looked like he might cry, but I knew he wouldn't. He usually doesn't. I could practically see the flames in Olivia's eyes, so I turned away.

"C'mon, guys, Johnny and Dally both believe me. Johnny can tell you that we didn't do anything."

"We didn't," Johnny agreed softly. "I'd never do that to Olivia _or _Dal."

"Exactly" I exclaimed. "Dally's Johnny's idol, for God sakes! Why would Johnny do that to him?"

"Dominance?" Adeline offered.

"C'mon, would C really do that? With _Johnny_ of all people?" Sodapop spoke up suddenly.

"You stay outta this, Soda," Olivia shot at him. "You're the culprit, too, here."

"What?" his voice was filled with shock. "What did _I _do?"

"Well, _you_, along with the _whole rest of the gang_, let C the slut screw you, too."

"Hey, you watch it," Dally warned. "Don't call 'er that."

"Why not, Dal?" She's done everyone but you. How's that make you feel?"

"She hasn't done nobody. Now shut the hell up, both of you, before I _make _you shut up."

"Oh, the big tough Dallas Winston's gonna hurt a few girls, huh?"

"I'll crack your skulls together and that'll take care of that," Dally laughed.

"You hurt her, _I'll _hurt _you_," Johnny threatened, stepping in front of Olivia defensively.

"I'd love to see you try, kid," he challenged, standing up and grinning wolfishly.

"What the hell did I walk into?" Two-Bit muttered to himself. "There's no way C did _me_, that's for sure. I got back together with Kathy a week ago."

"Can we not fight?" I sighed with frustration. "It's not helping anything."

"Shut up, C," Dally snapped, looking back at me. "_You're _the reason we're fighting."

I fell silent, realizing he was right.

"Hey, guys," came a voice from the doorway. Ponyboy was there suddenly, and he was taking in all the glares that the rest of us were sending to each other. "Woah, what happened here?"

"Nothing, Ponyboy, don't worry about it," I sighed, rubbing my eyes. "D'ya know where Em is?"

"Went back home. She said she had a lot of homework."

"Thanks."

"No problem. Uh, I got the mail, and there's this envelope that has your name on it, Liv."

"Me?" Olivia questioned. Ponyboy nodded, handing her a plain white envelope with the words "Miss Olivia" written in neat blue cursive.

"I dunno why they sent it to our house instead of yours," he shrugged.

"It doesn't have an address on it," she pointed out. "Someone must've just known I'm here a lot and stuck it in your mailbox."

"I guess," Ponyboy nodded.

"You gonna open it?" Adeline asked impatiently. She nodded and neatly untapped the envelope. She pulled out a small white piece of paper that was folded over like it had something instead of it.

"_To Olivia," _she read aloud. _"Enjoy, my dear." _She looked confused.

As soon as I heard the last two words, my stomach dropped. This wasn't gonna be good. And I could tell it definitely wasn't by the angry tears forming in the redhead's eyes.

"What is it?" Johnny asked nervously.

"I think you should know." Her voice was shaking slightly, but it was quiet in that angry way that scares me to death. The tone that people use when they're trying so hard to stay calm but they're on the brink of exploding. What happened next left me dazed.

Olivia shot up from the couch like a rocket, throwing the envelope down on the couch, its contents slipping out and landing face-up on the ground. She stormed over to me, and moved her hand. And then my cheek was stinging as I watched her storm out, a nervous Johnny and a furious Dally following after her.


	28. Chapter 28

_**(Alright well, if you saw my Instagram post, you'd know that I've been sitting here for about a half an hour being frustrated and clicking things repeatedly and slamming my mouse against the mouse pad because my stupid internet wasn't working right. Well, actually, you'd just know that I was trying to post a new chapter and it wasn't working so I was frustrated, but oh well. Literally, Internet Explorer and Google Chrome both wouldn't open and just ugh omg I hate this computer I hope I can get a laptop for Christmas.**_

_**K, replying to Mariah. She requested that I'd write about when C first met Dally and the gang, and my answer to that is, I've started one before. I got like three pages in, but then I decided to stay focused on this. Maybe I can make it a filler chapter, if you want that,so then I have a reason to write it. Yeah, I think I'll do that. Anyway, thank you!**_

_**Thank you to all of you that reviewed, it really means a lot to me! But yeah so this one's a little longer than the past few have been so I hope you like it! Please please please remember to leave a review because they make me so happy like yay! Thank you!)**_

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

I stared at them. The pictures. There were seven of them. Seven pictures of me doing something with each male member of the gang. Seven pictures of girls with long brown hair and big smiles on their faces that looked identical to me. But they weren't me.

When Adeline saw the picture of me straddling a boy that looked like Sodapop, she stormed out of the house. Sodapop was at her heels, begging her to believe that he never did that. It was kinda hard to believe though, I guess. I mean, the evidence was right there. That left me with Two-Bit. The boy picked up the picture of him pinning me to a bed that I recognized as my own, his lips attached to my neck.

"Jesus," he breathed. "This has to be phony somehow…right? We didn't do anything, did we? Maybe we were both drunk, and—"

"I don't drink, Two." He sighed and threw the picture down, grabbing his empty beer bottle and leaving the room, leaving me alone with the pictures.

Seven of them. One with each of the gang members, minus Dally. Two of Johnny and me, probably to piss Olivia off even more. One was of us kissing, and the other was of us doing a little more than that. I threw the picture away from me. I wanted to burn it; burn them all. But that would seem suspicious. I couldn't do that. But I couldn't look at them anymore.

I pushed them away and sped out the front door, tears building up, but I was surprisingly able to hold them in. The tears would probably hurt my cheek, which was still stinging. I didn't know Olivia could even hit that hard.

When I hit my driveway, I ran. And I slammed the door behind me, threw my backpack on the couch next to Emily, and went into the kitchen.

"What happened?" she asked me, throwing down her textbook and following me. I wondered if she knew about this whole rumor. I stopped at the fridge, pulling it open roughly, digging out a red apple, and slamming the door shut again.

"Nothing."

"It doesn't seem like nothing." I turned on the sink and held the apple under the cold water before drying it off with a napkin. "What's on your face?"

"Nothing, Emily."

"Is that a bruise? Where'd you get that?"

"Nowhere!" I yelled before leaving the kitchen and running up there stairs. She followed.

"Is this about that rumor at school? I heard it, but I know it's not true. Ponyboy doesn't believe it, either, he told me. Well, I mean, of course, cuz he knows he didn't do anything with you, cuz you wouldn't do that to—"

"Emily," I growled, stopping her mid-sentence as I reached my bedroom. "Go." She shrugged and headed back downstairs before I finally slammed the door.

I looked down at the apple, finally letting a few tears slip. They fell down onto the fruit, and I just let them slide down it and more kept coming. I didn't really care to stop them. I wished I was the apple. The apple probably had a nice life. Or maybe not. It gets all happy to be picked and then it just dies when someone eats it anyway. I blinked. It didn't look like an apple anymore. It wasn't an apple. Now I was holding an eye. A red one. A red eye that was staring at me as if it wanted me to die, just like everyone else probably did by now. And then I realized, it was Counterfeit's eye. I screamed and hurled it at the wall, falling down onto the bed.

Looking at it again, I just saw a red apple on the ground with a dent in it from where it hit the wall. I needed to get more sleep.

I fell back onto my pillow, kicking off my shoes and pulling the covers up around my body. He was definitely winning, I'd give him that. Counterfeit won a fight or two…or three.

_But he won't win the battle._ Oh no, _I'd_ win the battle. I'd make sure of that.

I could feel a headache coming on. I groaned quietly to myself, closing my eyes. The red eyes were staring back at me under my eyelids and I snapped them open again. This was gonna be torture; I could feel it already. I stared up at the ceiling, wondering why my heart was beating so quickly. It sounded like I just ran a lap in gym class, yet I was just lying there, staring at the ceiling. Maybe it was outta fear. Yeah, that makes sense. I was scared.

But maybe that's a bad thing to be when fear is the demon's greatest strength.

My eyelids drooped. I couldn't keep them open anymore. My head was getting worse, my cheek stung with pain, and my whole body hurt. I let them close, struggling to think of things that made me feel secure, like Dally, but his face was always replaced by those red eyes.

They made me feel like I was bound in a pit of fire.

XXX

_"C." The voice sounded like a little girl, but a creepy one. One of those little girls that are in horror movies that go around murdering random people on the streets. _

_ "L-leave me alone," I stuttered out, looking for the source of the voice. I couldn't see anything but thick white fog. _

_ "I just wanna play with you, C," the voice continued in a sickly sweet voice. "We'll have a lot of fun together, I promise."_

_ "I wanna go home," I answered desperately, wrapping my arms around my shivering body. It was freezing; with every breath I took, I could see it in the air. _

_ "This is your home now, silly little girl," she giggled. _

_ "No, it's not," I shook my head quickly. "My home is with my best friends. In Tulsa."_

_ "Tulsa doesn't want you anymore, C. They don't want you. But _I _want you. _I'll _play with you for the rest of my life. We can be best friends. I'll never throw you away, like everyone else."_

_ Suddenly, the thick fog parted, revealing a little girl. Her face matched the voice perfectly. Her hair was a snowy white color, which ended at the middle of her back in soft curls. And her eyes were glowing red. She was cute, so she couldn't have been older than ten. Her little black dress made her look like a Barbie doll with pale skin. She took a few steps towards me, and my brain told me to step back, but my feet wouldn't listen. Pure curiosity kept me rooted to the ground. Silently, she held out her pale hand. I stared at it. I didn't know what she wanted. I didn't have anything worth taking._

_ "Your hand," she clarified, her voice as clear as a bell. I hesitated. "Go on. I won't hurt you, I promise." Something in her voice made me trust her. So I reached for that hand, and she intertwined our fingers together. _

_ "I'll help you escape him," she whispered, but her voice rang in my ears. Did she mean _him?_ Who else could she be talking about? She had the same features as him. _

_ So in my mind, she couldn't be trusted. _

_ I struggled to rip my hand away from hers, but it was stuck, which caused me to panic. Her grip was like steel. I wasn't gonna get out unless she wanted me to. _

_ "I'm here to help you, C!" she cried._

_ "Get me outta here!" I screamed, continuing to try to pull away, even though I knew I couldn't. Her eyes were glowing brighter and brighter as I kept trying, and I realized her feet weren't even on the ground anymore. She was hovering, her feet at the level of my knees. _

_ "C!" She let out a bloodcurdling scream. "C!"_

"C!" I sat up quickly, struggling to untangle myself from the blankets. _It was just a dream,_ I told myself. _Don't be scared, stupid, it was just a dream. _It was Emily's voice.

"What?" I mumbled, rubbing my eyes and trying to sound tired.

"Somebody's here to see you."

"Tell 'em to go away."

"Wow, harsh," Dally's voice chuckled. I groaned quietly.

"Sorry, Dal. C'mon in." He pushed the door open slightly, peeking his head in before pushing it all the way open.

"How're you doin', Miss Grumpy-Pants?"

"Shut up." My face was buried in the pillow, so my voice came out muffled.

"Sorry." He was amused. "So, I talked to Liv."

"And?"

"Well, she's pissed."

"Great."

"But, hey, so am I. She had no right to hit you. How's your face, by the way?"

"Fine." He lifted my chin up with his finger and cringed.

"Jesus Christ, that kid's stronger than she looks. Got a little bruise there, babe."

"Terrific." I pushed him away and climbed out of bed, running my fingers through my tangled hair.

"Well, I have a question."

"Okay, shoot."

"There are two people in those pictures."

"Y-yeah…"

"Can he…do that? Split himself into two different people, or something?" I realized he was right. There were two people in those pictures, one me, and the other posing as a greaser. So either one of the two people was real, or he could duplicate. Which he couldn't, last time I checked. I sat down on the edge of the bed.

"I dunno, Dal, I'll ask him," I muttered sarcastically.

"Those pictures bothered me a little," he admitted suddenly.

"Trust me, they're botherin' me, too."

"And everyone _but_ me, too? Really?"

"He's trying to piss everyone off, Dal, that's the point."

"Well, he's succeeding. Half the gang isn't even talking now."

"I just don't understand why they don't believe me. They've been my best friends for three years now; they know I wouldn't do something like that."

"Honestly, it's pretty hard to not believe. Between everyone saying it at school, and the pictures, and Adeline saying she saw it herself, and—"

"I thought you were on _my _side here."

"I am. I'm just saying. If I hadn't seen him myself, I probably wouldn't believe you either. There's too much proof against you."

"Wait, what?"

"Sorry, but you can't really fake pictures—"

"No, no, no. _What?_"

"What?"

"What d'ya mean, if you hadn't seen him yourself?"

"Oh, did I not tell you about that?"

"Dallas! How could you not tell me something like that?"

"I remember that night." His voice lowered and the sarcastic, joking tone that he held the whole time instantly drained from it, scaring me a little.

"What night?"

"The night everyone thought I got jumped by a Soc. It wasn't a Soc, C. Besides, a Soc couldn't beat me up that bad. I would've fought back."

"I know."

"And I didn't know what it was when I first saw it, but I remembered it when I was sick, so then I thought I was just hallucinating, but then you told me about this whole thing and then I realized that it _was _him, but it just sounded crazy so I didn't tell you," he said in one big breath.

"You should've told me, Dally."

"Sorry. But it's stuck in my head now and I can't stop picturing his eyes. Glowing red eyes," he muttered the last part.

"That's him!" I cried. "See, I told you I'm not insane! Told you, told you, told you!"

"You sound a little insane right now," he teased. I jumped off the bed again.

"I'm serious! Dally, you saw him! That's huge!"

"Calm down. But think about it, if you've never seen him and don't think things like that exist, would you really believe someone that said that?"

"I dunno," I replied hesitantly. "But I will now."

"Anyway, I think we're on our own here, then. Olivia's pissed, Adeline's pissed, Sodapop's pissed, Johnny's frustrated—"

"_Soda's _pissed?" He nodded.

"Adeline won't talk to him now, and he's blaming you for it because of the pictures. He thinks you made them somehow or something."

"How would I—"

"It doesn't really matter. You didn't. But we're on our own side here, I guess."

"Thank you," I whispered.

"For what?"

"For being there for me. You're the only one that is."

"Uh, no problem, I guess. Well, I gotta go take care of something so I'll see you later. I dunno if I can come back tonight, though."

"That's fine," I replied uneasily. "Just be careful, please. I don't want anything else happening to you again."

"I'll be fine."

"Dallas Winston, I'm dead serious," I warned, grabbing either side of his face and looking into those chocolate eyes. "I want you safe. I couldn't deal with you being gone. Okay?"

"Okay." I hugged him tightly, laying my head on his chest and listening to that steady, calming heartbeat.

I wondered, with a sick-to-my-stomach feeling, how much longer that steady beat would keep going, now that Counterfeit successfully took everyone else away from me.

XXX

Around one in the morning, I pulled on my jacket and peeked out my bedroom door. The hall was empty. Mom and Dad had come home two hours earlier, and their door was shut and probably locked. Emily's lights were off and her door was shut. I was in the clear. I slipped out my bedroom door quietly, leaving it open a crack. I probably could've gone down the tree easier without waking anyone up, but it was pretty dark and I didn't wanna risk falling.

So I crept down the stairs, wincing when the fourth one down creaked. But no lights snapped on, and no doors swung open, so I continued until I got to the bottom. And then I went out the front door, locking it behind me.

The cold night air hit me like a bullet, freezing me to the core. I rubbed my hands together and pressed them against my cheeks, hoping they'd help warm me up. They didn't, not really. But I wasn't too surprised considering all I was wearing were my thin purple pajamas with a leather jacket over it. Leather wasn't necessarily great for heat preservation.

I looked around the dark street, wishing I'd brought a flashlight. The Curtis house and every house around it were lacking any kind of light. I was definitely on my own in the cold. But that's what I wanted.

I felt like I had somewhere to be, but I couldn't think of where or why I felt that way. It was dark, it was cold, and it was late. Where could I possibly have to go? Yet that feeling still nagged at me, chewing on my nerves since Dally left earlier that day. I knew I had school the next day, but the feeling couldn't be ignored. So even though I was ninety-eight percent sure that I'd be falling asleep in school tomorrow, I went.

I started down the street, not really sure of where I was going. But I _did _know, yet I didn't. My _mind _had no idea. It couldn't name the place where I was walking, but my feet just carried me there, and I didn't stop them. I couldn't.

I passed the Curtis house, which was quiet. All the lights were out, and it was so dark I could barely see it. I could hear the soft clapping of my own Converse against the sidewalk. I just continued walking, house by house. I passed Johnny's house with one light on; the light I knew to be Johnny's room. Maybe he was with Olivia. Bu I'm not supposed to care about her. Olivia doesn't wanna be my friend anymore. She doesn't like me anymore. I shouldn't care. It shouldn't bother me at all.

But it does.

I kept walking anyway, watching the familiar houses of my neighborhood as I passed by them. I walked for about fifteen minutes, eventually passing Steve's house and Two-Bit's house and Helena's house and Olivia's house. They were all dark and quiet, just like every other house on the poor side of town.

Suddenly, I stopped dead realizing I was at the rough boundary between the east and west sides of town; the rough boundary between the greaser territory and Soc territory. Usually, I'd turn around and go back home at this point, but I didn't. Not this time. Because no matter how much my mind begged me to turn around; to go back home and get back in bed, my feet didn't obey. They kept on walking, even as I screamed at myself in my head to go back.

The houses here were big, but I already knew that. I'd been here the few times I went to Adeline's house, but of course, I'd never walked alone on the Soc side before. _Adeline._ I missed her a little. I missed her a _lot. _But _she _was mad at me, too. I had to work on not caring, because for all I knew, they'd never talk to me again.

I don't care.

I don't care.

I don't care.

_I care._

This neighborhood was a little more lit up than my own, which worried me a little bit. More lights meant more people awake in their houses, and more people awake meant a bigger possibility of teenage Socs. I kept walking, still not sure of where I was going. I felt like I was sleep-walking, because my feet were choosing to move the opposite direction that my brain told me to go. I got to Adeline's street. I stopped at the end of her block. I finally felt like I had control over my feet again, so my first thought was to turn around. But then I thought again. I came all the way out here; I might as well try to figure out why.

Suddenly, a man walked out of the house I was in front of. I squinted at his backside, wondering why he looked so familiar to me. I realized he was more of a teenage boy than a man, probably seventeen or eighteen. He turned around out of nowhere and I noticed him look directly at me, directly into my eyes. I ducked behind a tree as fast as I could, my heart pounding.

Luke. Luke saw me. I was positive of it. I couldn't mistake those dark blue eyes for anything else, especially with that identical angry twinkle he had in them when he looked at me. It was him. He looked right at me and now he's gonna find me and make me pay for…wait.

_Luke's dead._

I peeked out from behind the tree and stared at the teenage boy who wasn't actually a boy at all. He looked like a man in his late thirties, stubble clear on his chin and the brown color of his hair ten times lighter than Luke's had been. It didn't even look like Luke at all, I realized now. It must've been the shadow casted on the man that made him look like Luke. Yeah, that was it. Either that, or I was going insane.

I wouldn't doubt either one at this point, to be honest.

As the guy started to climb into his Corvette, I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down before darting out from behind the tree and down the street, not looking back at the Luke-man. I knew it wasn't him when I looked at him. But I could still picture the part when he looked directly at me in my head, his eyes glaring at me with pure hatred.

I stopped running when I reached Adeline's house, about seven houses down. The man had pulled out of his driveway and driven away by this point, although I don't know where he could've been going so late at night. But I was safe from him, at least.

I walked slowly past Adeline's house, wishing that she'd just run out and hug me and tell me she believed me and she wants to be my friend again. Of course, that didn't happen. In fact, as I stood in front of that house, staring at the big door and imagining it happening, the porch lights that she had casting a yellow light onto the driveway snapped off, startling me. I backed away from the house slowly now, wishing I wasn't so alone. If I had one wish right then, it would've been, _I wish I was back in my bed next to Dally_.

I speed-walked down the block until I reached a big street, a street full of Soc hang outs and fancy restaurants and stores. I passed a clothing store where fancy dresses hung in the shop window. They looked so pretty; sparkling blue with a black trim, soft pink with sparkling grey belts…but obviously, they were expensive.

Two Socs laughing loudly walked out of a bar, although I couldn't imagine why. It was a school night; shouldn't they be asleep? They nearly looked at me, but I ducked into a shadow, and they walked to their silver car, got in, and sped away. I exhaled a sigh of relief, getting ready to step out of the shadow again, but something caught my eye.

A flash of bright white hair, half-hidden by a black cloak, in the size of a little girl.


	29. Chapter 29

_**My computer's being a Counterfeit and I hate it and I need a new one somebodoy buy me a laptop for Christmas please Ill love you forever. Anyway, yes I'm a terrible person, I know. I didn't actually know I haven't updated this in almost a month, I thought it was only like two weeks but I guess not. Oops. There's too much school and crap and ugh homework. I have a lot of it right now but I decided to finish this for you people first even though my computer is a piece of crap and it's terrible. This chapter's a little longer, though, so that should make up for the slower update. I it doesn't, sorry. But yeah, so I'm updating pretty slowly I guess, but I haven't lost interest in this story, in case some of you people are worried that I have and I'm gonna end up not finishing. I'll finish it, I promise. I don't like not finishing things. It bothers me. But I'll definitely have it up faster next time...I feel like I said that last time too...oops. But yeah so thanks for reading and there's another AN at the bottom so read it cuz it's important. K thanks byee**_

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

I stared at the little girl for a second, and it seemed like she was staring right back. Maybe she was. I had to be hallucinating. I mean, it made sense. I saw her in a dream before, and with my current shaky mental state, I could've been imagining her there. It was completely possible. It _felt_ really real, but dreams do that. I blinked, and I realized I was right. She was gone and I was hallucinating. I let out a little sigh of relief, feeling comfort in the puff of air exiting my mouth. At least I wasn't completely alone. I had my breath in the cold air.

I leaned against the brick wall in front of me, feeling the rough surface against my cheek. I shouldn't be wandering around Soc territory this late at night. The thought passed through my mind again, and this time I decided I should listen to my head, for once. It was cold and I could feel myself getting sick, if that makes sense. My throat was starting to sting from the cold and my nose was getting runny. I started to turn around.

But as I did, I saw her again. And this time, she was further away, running away from me. She was deeper into the Soc territory, which made me nervous, but I couldn't just leave it, because she didn't just disappear. She _was _there, but she was running. So I didn't see her. It makes perfect sense. But why was _she_ running from _me?_ Shouldn't that be the other way around? I mean, she is the one with the creepy red eyes and freakishly white hair.

But I took off running, even though my legs felt frozen stiff and my nose was running like crazy by this point. I didn't care if I died tomorrow; I had the feeling that I needed to find out who this girl was. So I would.

I ran as fast as I could down the street, hoping to catch up with the girl, although I knew I probably wouldn't. I wasn't that great of a runner, and on top of that I was freezing. I ran down almost the whole block, though, passing the big Soc houses and buildings. I could feel myself slowing down. My legs felt like they were slowly freezing into blocks of ice. I'm sure they were a little blue underneath my pants. I could still see the bouncing white curls, but they were getting smaller and further into the distance. _Go home_, I kept telling myself in my head. _It's cold and you're getting sick, stupid. _I wanted so badly to just stop and go back home. The thought of crawling under the warm covers of my bed felt so inviting. But I just couldn't do it. _That girl was in my nightmare_, the thought went through my head for the millionth time since I saw her. She looked just like _him_. How could I just let something like that go?

_"I'll help you escape him."_ Maybe she _would_ help. Maybe she would only make things worse, but the fact that she possibly _could_ was what kept me going.

Maybe I _would _be able to escape with my life.

Through all my thoughts, I had no idea how far I'd been chasing her. But when I finally snapped out of it and noticed we were almost at the border of Tulsa and the next town over, I panicked. I'd gone really far. It couldn't have been any less than an hour walk. I didn't even know exactly how to get home from here. I had a rough estimate; I mean, it couldn't be _that _complicated. I only made a few turns. But I didn't know how I'd make it back. It was cold, _I _was freezing, I was tired, and I'd have to cross back through Soc territory to get back. It was two in the morning though, if not later, so that probably wouldn't be much of a probably. They still had to go to school tomorrow, too. That reminded me, so did I. Did I actually want to go, though? I'd have to deal with the same crap I'd dealt with earlier, and nobody to back me up on top of it. I'd think about it, I decided.

I stopped short when I saw her slip through a door. It was the door of an old factory building. It was falling apart, which sorta made me nervous about following her. I'd always been warned by the gang that if I ever wound up on the Soc side of town for some reason, I should never go to the old Queen's factory. Queen's used to be a place for child labor with textile factories and cotton mills and stuff like that. It was from the late 1800's, and it survived through some of Tulsa's many tornadoes, so it wasn't in the best shape. I'm not sure why they didn't tear it down and build something nicer in its place instead, but I guess it doesn't matter.

Honestly, the place looked creepy just staring at it. It was covered in shadows, and who knew what lurked in those shadows. It was old and gross, too. Even in the dark, I could see chunks of walls and doors and windows that were missing, cracked, or broken. The third floor, the top one, had a big hole in the wall that allowed me to see into the building, but all that was visible was pitch black nothingness. I hesitantly approached the heavy wooden door, wondering if this was really worth it. What if I died in here or something?

But maybe I wouldn't. And this girl could be the thing that saved my life. So before wiping my nose on my sleeve one last time, I grabbed the rusty doorknob. It squeaked as I turned it to the right, and the door creaked loudly as I pulled it open, as if it was screaming at me to go back. I didn't.

I squinted into the darkness, frustrated with the lack of light. There wasn't even a moon out, and the clouds covered a lot of the stars. I wasn't smart enough to bring a flashlight, so I was on my own. I took a slow step over the threshold of the door, wincing at the feeling of my feet sinking into the wet, muddy ground. I crouched down and poked the floor lightly. My finger felt frozen numb, so I wasn't positive, but it felt like a dirt floor rather than cement. I wiped the mud that was on my finger onto my pants and shivered involuntarily.

"H-hello?" I called out, but my voice came out as a shaky whisper. "Is anyone here?"

The door slammed shut behind me.

I screamed, and then slapped a hand over my mouth. I probably shouldn't have been so loud. But I did just get the crap scared out of me, and now I was surrounded by black.

"I really wanna go home," I said quietly, "so if you're here, please say something. I just wanna talk to you. I won't hurt you or anything, I promise." I looked around the dark, hoping my eyes would adjust a little enough to see something, anything.

Red eyes were behind me. I jumped and fell to my knees, blinking repeatedly to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. They were still there after a few seconds, so I couldn't have been.

"You shouldn't be here," her smooth voice told me. "It's not safe."

"W-who are you? What do you want?"

"But I believe _you're _the one who followed me here, didn't you, dear?"

"Don't _ever _call me that. I _hate _that."

"I'm sorry. Your name is Corrin, right?"

"Y-yeah."

"Would you prefer me to call you something else?"

"Uh, just C is fine, thanks."

"Sure, um…C. You need to go home."

"Why?"

"I told you. It's not safe here. If _he _finds out you were here…"

"He?"

"You know who _he_ is, C."

"I _think _I do."

"I _know _you do."

"Can you make it less dark in here?"

"Why, darling? You're leaving."

"Stop. No pet names."

"Because _he _uses them?"

"Yeah, because _he _uses them. How do you know _him_ anyway?"

"You'll find out soon enough. Now leave while you still have the chance."

"No. I came all the way here and I'm not gonna let it go to waste. What's your name?"

"Corrin, you need to go now."

"What's your name?" I ignored her again.

"Serena," she replied simply.

"That's a pretty name."

"Aren't you scared of me?"

"Kinda. I'm more curious though."

"I can tell. But unfortunately, your questions can't be answered, not today."

"Why not? We're standing right here, they might as well be."

"You're a cute little thing," she giggled, which offended me a little since she was much younger than me. "I honestly hope Father doesn't harm you more than he already has."

"_Father?_"

"Ah, I've already said too much. Go." The door swung open suddenly, allowing me to see the gleam of her curly hair. It was pretty.

"I'm not leaving until you explain. You can't say something like that and tell me to go," I protested stubbornly, crossing my arms over my chest. She sighed heavily.

"Very well. But I'm warning you, C; this could cost you your life."

"Big deal." The door slammed shut again and a small flame appeared next to her head. It was a candle.

"Go." She pointed in front of us.

"I can't see."

"Unfortunate. You'll find your way." I sighed before taking a step. My foot hit a wooden platform, and I realized I was standing in front of a steep staircase. I cautiously made my way up, running the tips of my fingers along the side wall to avoid stumbling. I did a few times anyway, but Serena waited patiently behind me until I hit the top. We passed the second story and continued walking until we got to the top of the stairs on the third floor where two more candles lit up as if by magic in the corners.

"You're not gonna hurt me, are you?" I asked suddenly.

"If I were to hurt you, it would be your fault. You asked for it."

I guess that was true.

"Come," she urged, stepping in front of me and leading me down a narrow hallway. My shoulders touched both walls. Serena didn't have much of a problem, but she had to be younger than ten years old, so she was pretty small. I kept following her, filling with nervousness at the sound of the floors creaking beneath us. I took another step, and a piece of the thin wooden floor crumbled away, crashing to the story below us. I jumped away just in time, hitting the side wall and placing a hand over my pounding heart.

"This place isn't safe," Serena repeated without turning to look at me. "I warned you."

"I didn't think—"

"Stop thinking. You're no good at it." I shut up and continued to follow her, hoping that the second floor wouldn't crumble beneath us and kill us.

She _did _say it could cost me my life. But I didn't actually think she was serious.

The girl stopped shortly in front of a door, causing me to nearly bump into her, but I managed to stop quickly enough. She turned around to look at me, and I could finally see her face, even though I had to look down to do so. I was torn between fearing her and being curious. Because I mean, she was a little girl, so it was kinda hard to take seriously. And how would a girl that young become what she is? But the fact that she was so little and she could see in my head—I was convinced she could, I could tell by the way she looked at me—scared me. If she could do that, who knew what else she could do?

"If you make it out of here alive," she instructed, "you leave as soon as we're done here, understand? I'm sure Dallas won't be too happy to find you missing in the morning."

"He _won't_ find me missing…right?"

"I can't promise anything," she replied skeptically.

"Is it really that bad?"

"Afraid so."

She pushed the door open and a gust of cold air flew out, causing me to shiver. I looked at her, waiting for her to go inside the room, but she nodded at me to go first instead, so I went. The room was too dark to see anything, and I could tell immediately that three panels in the ceiling were missing. I could tell the moon in the sky was hidden behind dark clouds.

Suddenly, candles lit up everywhere, allowing me to see. The walls and floors were wooden and many of them had visible splinters sticking out of different spots. The walls were covered with random papers, but I couldn't see what any of them said, not yet. There were big machines that I didn't recognize, probably because nobody used them anymore, in different corners of the room, the only things in there besides the pictures and a glass case. Whatever was in the glass case, I couldn't tell. I turned to look at Serena and noticed she held two candles now, and she handed one of them to me.

"There's no electricity in this place," she explained quietly. "It's old and nobody's used it in a while."

"I know."

"Well, except for _us_, obviously."

"_Us?_"

"Yes. I come here a lot—with him." I was silent for a second. I couldn't understand why I trusted this girl if she's even said to me that she works with Counterfeit. I couldn't imagine why in the world I was terrified, but her presence made me feel a little safer. I glanced around the room, holding out the small candle. That's when I noticed a picture on the wall. It was of a girl who looked like she could be about my age. I stepped a little closer.

"Who's that?"

"Rebecca Martin."

"She's pretty. Is she—?"

"Deceased? Yes." I noticed another picture a little further to the left of Rebecca, stuck to the wall with a thumb tack.

"Oh. What about that one?"

"Maria Carter. Also deceased."

"Who's she?"

"Molly Dylan. Deceased." I noticed a girl with auburn hair and thick framed glasses. I'd never seen her before in my life, I thought. But she looked vaguely familiar to me.

"What about her?"

"Gloria Sayers. Same as the other three girls."

"I've seen that girl! She was on the news a lot last year, wasn't she? There was this big mystery of what happened to her and why she died."

"She committed suicide. She was so young, too. So sad," she sighed.

"How old was she?"

"There's more than just these four, C. There're girls covering these walls, and all of them committed suicide because of _him_. The youngest was eleven years old. Unfortunately, she didn't last more than three days. The oldest was twenty-two, I believe, and she held on for almost five months before she completely lost it."

"How do you know all this?"

"I'm smart. So if you're not careful, you can end up like every one of these girls—the victim of suicide and yet another girl that _he _has destroyed."

"I would never kill myself."

"That's what Gloria told him. And Rebecca, and Molly, and Susan, and Laura, and—"

"Alright, alright, I get it. But I wouldn't."

"The thought wouldn't even cross your mind if we can end up stopping him."

"You wanna _stop _him?"

"I told you, C; I'm here to help you."

"How do I know if I can believe you or not?"

"You believe me. I know you do."

"You can read my mind, can't you?"

"Of course I can."

"Terrific."

"It's helpful to me. I can tell when you're lying. But you're not that great of a liar, anyway."

"Yeah, I've been told that."

"Dallas can always tell when you're lying."

"I know."

"You really love him, don't you?"

"Why the hell does it matter how much I love him? Why does that keep coming up?"

"The more you love him, the more of a weakness he is to you. And you'd die for that boy, trust me."

"I know."

"You shouldn't let people do that to you. That's how you get taken advantage of. You rarely get mad at him."

"He doesn't give me anything to be mad about."

"If he cheated, you'd forgive him in a heartbeat."

"Can you stop fishing through my thoughts, please? It's creepy."

"I'm sorry." She didn't look that sorry. "Father always told me that's what you're supposed to do. It helps you get to know people better."

"Who's _father_?" I inquired impatiently. "Is it Counterfeit? He's your dad?"

"It's a long story."

"I have time."

"You really don't. I shouldn't have you here, really, it could screw up everything."

"I'll be fine."

"That's what you keep saying."

"Because it's probably true. I've been through my share of tough stuff."

"My father is nothing like Luke, Corrin. Luke was just a misunderstood boy and he took his anger out in the wrong ways. Not that it's an excuse for what he did to you, but of course, he didn't deserve to _die_. He wasn't supposed to die. He was probably insane, just a little bit. But this…this is a billion times worse. Demons are like hunters, and hunters don't stop hunting until they catch and destroy their prey."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it. My chances of surviving are slim."

"_Very _slim," she corrected.

"Wow, even better," I answered sarcastically.

"But maybe I can get you out of it. It'll be hard, but I'll try."

"Why?"

"Why what? Would you rather have me sit back and watch?"

"Well, no, but I mean…haven't you known that he's done this before?"

"Obviously."

"Then why didn't you do anything to stop it?"

"I feared what he'd do."

"But you don't fear him now?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Let's not waste our time with silly questions."

"It's not silly. It's legitimate."

"Enough."

"Fine."

"He's not really my dad," she changed the subject. "He's just considered that. It's this weird thing. I don't think humans would get it too well."

"Try to explain it then."

"No. That's all you need to know, anyway. I call him my father, he calls me his daughter, we're considered related. He's not my real dad. It's like being adopted, almost."

"How old are you?" I asked suddenly.

"That would depend."

"On?"

"What you mean by that."

"Uh…"

"I'm eight. Sort of. I became what I am when I was eight. I was born in 1837."

"So you've been alive for over one hundred years?"

"Correct. I died in here, actually. I had an accident with one of the machines when my parents sent me to work."

"How'd you get to be a demon?"

"These questions aren't important." Still carrying her candle, she took a few steps closer to the wall and held the candle up to a new picture. The girl was smiling happily, half hugging the boy next to her. He had an arm draped around her shoulders and a grin on his face.

I remembered taking that. We had a big surprise birthday party for Ponyboy over the summer, and the whole gang was there. That's who shows up for pretty much everyone's birthday party: just the seven boys and five girls. But Two-Bit showed up to that party very proud of himself. Apparently, he was able to get his hands on a brand new camera in the store and swipe it without being noticed. After that, he was taking pictures of _everything_; Darry and Sodapop baking Pony's cake, Emily and Adeline wrapping the presents, Pony's face when everyone jumped out at him, people eating, and even the grass and whatever show was on TV at the time, probably Mickey, which was his favorite.

"Smile, you two," he'd said when he approached Dally and me.

"Two, put the fucking camera down for two seconds," Dally grumbled.

"Hey, be nice," I interjected.

"Yeah, be nice," Two-Bit repeated me. "Please smile? Just for a second, I swear. I have a cute picture of every couple but you two."

"I don't like pictures," Dally replied.

"Too bad. Now smile." We both sighed and smiled.

"No, no, no, you guys look like you hate each other!" Two-Bit cried. "Smile bigger!"

"Glory, would ya shut up and take the picture already?"

"Smile bigger."

"No."

"C'mon, think about how happy you are together. Then show it in a smile!"

"Two-Bit, you're making me wanna kill you," I spoke up.

"Remember the other night when you were cuddling on the hood of the T-Bird and watching the stars? Weren't you guys so happy then?" I smiled big. I couldn't help it. And Dally must've smiled decently, too, because Two-Bit snapped the picture at that second.

"Aww, that's adorable," he cooed.

"Wait a minute," Dally said suddenly, "how'd you know about the other night?"

"Oh, I didn't tell you guys about my new binoculars?"

"Two-Bit!" I cried.

"You're fucking dead, Mathews," Dally warned, but Two-Bit was already running. Dal started chasing after him anyway, threatening to break his camera. He didn't, though. He probably would've if Darry hadn't called everyone inside and said it was time for cake.

"How did you even get this?" I asked her finally, ripping away from my thoughts.

"He has a lot of ways to get things," she shrugged. "I'm not always aware of them."

"I thought it was in a picture frame in my room."

"It is. There were two, I believe."

"Oh," I nodded, turning around to look at the rest of the room. Something caught my eye; something slightly standing out in the dim room. "What's in that glass case?"

"I wouldn't look if I were you," she cautioned as I took a step closer to it with my candle.

"Why not?" I asked, ignoring her warning and taking another step.

"You won't like it." I shrugged and stepped up to it, crouching down in front of it and holding the light up to the glass.

I screamed and fell to the floor. I felt the room shake dangerously.

"What the hell!" I cried, staring into the case in horror.

"Shh, you need to be quiet!" Serena said, running up behind me and slapping her hand over my mouth to silence me. It didn't work.

"Is that real?!"

"Corrin, shush! He'll hear you!"

"What the hell! That's fucking sick! What's wrong with you?" I yelled.

_"I thought you weren't supposed to swear, my dear." _I stopped dead. His voice echoed through the whole room. I looked back at Serena, who looked helpless.

"Now you've done it," she whispered. I looked back at the glass case, tears forming in my eyes. Adeline and Olivia's heads stared back at me blankly with dead eyes.

_"They're not real, Corrin. But they will be."_

"Stop it!" I screamed, covering my ears with my hands. "Leave me alone!"

_"I see little Serena doesn't know her place. I'll take care of that."_

Suddenly, the whole building started to wobble. I could hear the old pillars that held the place up cracking and crumbling around us. Serena looked panicked, and I'm sure my expression wasn't too different. Then, the floor beneath my feet dropped, sending me flying down through the second story. I crashed down on the floor of the first, and my whole body was aching. The building was still coming down, though. I had to get out of there as soon as possible. I struggled to look around in the dark, but I couldn't see anything. I painfully pulled myself up to my knees and started crawling. Pieces of the ceiling were coming down around me, scratching my legs through my pajama pants. I felt one cut through my jacket and I winced, but managed to keep crawling to the front wall. I felt around in the dark until I found a place where a chunk of the wall had fallen out. I pushed against the weak wood, hoping it would break. It did. It cracked in half and fell off the wall, leaving me with a bigger hole. I kept ripping and pushing and pulling until there was a hole just big enough for me to fit through. I pushed through the hole and tumbled out into the grass next to the building. The whole top floor collapsed in on the rest of it, and the stories came down like dominoes. I tried to avoid the little chunks of wood falling into my direction, but some hit my stomach and legs anyway.

The building was down, and because of the candles, it was a little bit on fire too. I groaned. This was too much like what happened with Johnny a while ago, and that was not something I wanted to relive. But it hurt too much to move, so I just rolled further away from the building and hoped I wouldn't get caught on fire, too.

The moon chose _now _to come out from behind the clouds. The last thing I saw before blacking out was the bright moon that looked like it was glaring at me like I shouldn't be alive.

It was a full moon.

* * *

_**Hello again, people. I just wanted to say that the girls name, Serena, comes from the fantabulous user Syrina Kamar because her reviews are really good and she asked to be in the story so I mean there she is. Congrats, Syrina!**_

_**And secondly, this plot line comes from Lexi the guest. She gave me a few good ideas for this story, so I decided to use this one. Thanks so much, Lexi! Good job!**_

_**Lastly, go ask me questions on my cuz I'm bored. It's CamRox2010 even though I don't like that name anymore and my name's Corrin Winston on it, obviously. **_

_**Okay thank you! Please review and thanks for reading!**_


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